Just as Planned
Just as planned... With a sharp click, the interrogation room door swung open. At the same time, the soldiers guarding the entrance immediately adjusted their weapons and blocked the path ahead.
“...What is this now?”
“Forgive the intrusion. However, we have strict orders not to allow the prisoner to be taken out.”
The soldiers spoke with clear warning in their voices as they stared at Amelda standing behind him. Brutus let out a laugh of pure disbelief.
“I am the interrogator assigned to examine this criminal, am I not? What possible problem could there be with me wishing to move the prisoner?”
“It is an order from above. Please refrain from any actions that might cause unnecessary trouble.”
“We have been granted permission to use coercive measures if necessary. You absolutely cannot take the prisoner away.”
“Coercive?”
Irritation flashed across Brutus’s face. A cold voice left his lips, and at the same moment an ominous surge of power stirred within his body. As the bishop who had trained the paladin order, he possessed formidable combat strength. The threatening aura wrapped in warning sent an instinctive chill down the soldiers’ spines.
Yet even in the face of that pressure, the soldiers who had received their orders answered with unyielding resolve.
“We are simply following commands.”
“Regulations are regulations, even for an interrogator. Please do not cause a disturbance!”
The soldiers refused to yield even an inch. Brutus watched them for a long moment, then let out a small sigh and slowly withdrew his hostile presence.
“Haa… Very well. There’s nothing to be done, then.”
With those words he left Amelda inside the room and stepped forward alone. The soldiers lowered their weapons and moved to shut the interrogation room door.
But in the next instant—
“Urk!”
“Kuh!”
The soldiers suddenly clutched at their throats as if strangled and collapsed to the floor. Agony crashed over them without warning. They tried desperately to cry out and alert the others, yet the crushing pressure on their necks made even breathing impossible. Moments later they foamed at the mouth and lost consciousness.
Amelda quickly dragged one of the fallen soldiers into the room and closed the door behind her. A short while later, a voice called from outside.
“Is it done?”
“Yes. I’ve finished changing.”
Amelda answered while settling the helmet onto her head. She was no longer wearing her usual paladin armor, but the uniform of the soldier who had been guarding the interrogation room only minutes earlier.
Once their escape preparations were complete, Brutus and Amelda shoved the unconscious soldiers inside and locked the door firmly. If the enemy learned they had drawn blades first, the troops would swarm them like hornets using that very act as justification. It was a flimsy, makeshift plan at best, yet they needed every second they could buy.
“Good. We move now. We may be disguised, but we don’t know when we’ll be discovered, so hurry.”
“Yes, Master.”
Together they slipped out of the prisoner ward as quickly as they could. The moment they disappeared, the figure who had been watching from the shadows in silence began to move.
Achilles Decliment, one of the three generals of the Falcon Empire and the man responsible for security in this area, received the fresh report with a cold smile spreading across his lips.
“So… that elf bishop has gone and done exactly that?”
“Yes, General. He attacked my soldiers guarding the prison without provocation, stole their armor, and is now attempting to smuggle the criminal out.”
“My, my… To commit such an act in the very heart of the empire, even though we are allies. Bishop Brutus has been kind enough to do something quite reckless indeed.”
Even as he spoke, open delight colored his tone. The thought just as planned was written so plainly on his face that the staff officers present began to smile cold smiles of their own in response.
“This must mean the elves have something to hide regarding the Hero Party, does it not?”
“I agree completely. Otherwise they would never have done something this reckless in the middle of the empire.”
“Give the order at once, General. I will personally go and capture those filthy elf bastards.”
Though the Falcon Empire had issued the first threat, it was the elf bishop and paladin who had responded with actual violence. In matters of law, the one who struck first could always be painted as the villain, no matter how the opponent had threatened them. In this case, punishing the elves who had drawn their weapons first would be seen as both legally and diplomatically justified, regardless of the preceding events.
Having secured their just cause, Achilles Decliment gave the command to the subordinates who had already finished all preparations.
“Deploy immediately! Arrest every last elf who has betrayed our alliance!”
“Yes, General!”
“Kuh…”
“How… How is this possible? We only just left…”
The moment they escaped the prisoner ward, the sight before them made Brutus’s brow furrow deeply. The path they had intended to take was completely surrounded by soldiers. He had already sensed from the atmosphere that events might unfold this way, yet the certainty that he and Amelda would be buried beneath the false testimony of the other Hero Party members if they remained passive had forced his hand.
Even so, he had not simply thrown the dice in a reckless gamble.
“Amelda. Head straight for the eastern gate. In that armor you should be able to blend in with the soldiers and slip away.”
“What? But Master, what about you?”
“Do not worry about me. No matter what, I am here as a representative of the Elf Theocracy. Even they will find it difficult to lay hands on a guest from another nation.”
“Master…”
Brutus offered her a gentle smile—the first she had ever seen on his face since the day she was born. In that instant Amelda instinctively understood what he intended. Yet she could not bring herself to speak of it. She already knew exactly what her master was asking of her by going this far.
“When we meet again in the theocracy, I’ll treat you to a meal. So be sure to escape safely.”
“…Under…stood.”
“Good. Go.”
At her master’s final words, Amelda bowed her head deeply and sprinted in the opposite direction. After watching his disciple disappear, Brutus hardened his expression once more and turned to face the enemy.
You must survive and return… The fate of the theocracy… the fate of our entire race rests upon you.
With that final thought, he slowly revealed himself before the soldiers. The moment they spotted him they drew their weapons and advanced without hesitation. Their intent to respond with overwhelming force, guest or not, was unmistakable.
Brutus began gathering his mana. As if he had expected nothing less, he prepared to create the largest possible disturbance—one that would cost him his life—so that his disciple might escape more easily.
“For the theocracy…”
Tears still stinging her eyes after parting from her master, Amelda moved as swiftly as she could. Thanks to the commotion Brutus had caused, no pursuers appeared behind her. Even so, the main routes remained blocked by soldiers, and any careless approach risked immediate discovery. She wore imperial armor for now, but a simple inspection would expose her at once.
No choice… I’ll wait for the right moment, blend into a moving unit, and escape with them. Once I’m out of the castle and reach the forest, I’ll be safe.
Hiding among the troops constantly moving through the area should let her avoid checkpoints. Besides, catching a single elf fleeing through the forest would be extremely difficult for humans.
Just as she was finalizing her escape route, a squad of soldiers appeared ahead, marching past.
Perfect. If I slip into their formation…
She waited behind a pillar, then quietly joined the column. Since everyone wore identical armor, she was certain no one would notice unless they looked closely.
Then—
Thud!
“!!…”
A searing pain exploded through her body, followed by total paralysis as poison flooded her veins. The blow had come without the slightest warning or detectable presence. Amelda crumpled to the ground.
What is this…? A strike I couldn’t even sense? That means… the one who did this must be one of the empire’s top experts…
Even as the realization struck her, she could not move a single finger. She lay helplessly on the cold stone.
“It’s the one wearing the marked armor!”
“Contact the general at once! We’ve captured the elf bitch who tried to escape!”
Soldiers immediately closed in, surrounding her. Amid their ranks, Amelda felt a deep, crushing despair as her consciousness began to fade.
No… This can’t… It can’t…