Chapter 39
Chapter 39
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 39
Chapter Title: Close Aides (1)
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“Holy Knight Sion Aleyas executed a bishop-level priest from the Dialogue Church?!”
“Yes, the report just came in.”
Holy Knight Order headquarters.
The conference room where the key executives were gathered was in an uproar.
It was due to the report from Berhardt, commander of the Independent Knight Brigade that oversaw the independent knight units.
“As reported last time, the 13th Unit of the Independent Knight Brigade had infiltrated the Hermel region and wiped out the purification priests lurking there, preventing the Great Purification in advance.”
“Hmm, that was already a tremendous achievement, but...”
“Afterward, Bishop Olean, who had led the operation, stepped in personally, but the 13th Unit captain saw through it in advance and subjugated him.”
“No way, a bishop from the Dialogue Church...”
“Aren’t Dialogue Church bishops usually at least 6-star mana level?”
“They say he lured him into a trap with a meticulous plan. I’ll share the detailed report as soon as it’s completed.”
Berhardt’s report was truly shocking.
Sion Aleyas was a boy who hadn’t even been a formal knight for a year yet.
For such a greenhorn to capture a bishop-level priest from the Dialogue Church?
It was too unrealistic.
“By the way, it seems Bishop Olean even deployed a Special Grade 2 assassin. Of course, the 13th Unit captain repelled him.”
“A Special Grade 2 assassin!”
“Aren’t those the ones who can assassinate even 8-star knights?!”
“What star level is Sion Aleyas at right now?”
“He has one circle, but his mana is equivalent to 3-star...”
“No, recent intel says he’s accumulated mana at the 4-star level.”
“Whether 3-star or 4-star, how does he take down a Special Grade 2 assassin?!”
The executives in the conference room chattered away in disbelief.
They were all too astounded.
“Didn’t they say he lured him into a trap with a meticulous plan?”
The conference room fell silent at the sudden voice.
It was Knight Order Leader... Ianus Aleyas who had spoken.
“No matter how strong the enemy, you can win by using your wits.”
“L-Leader, Your Excellency...”
“Are you all going to give up and accept death the moment you face a stronger foe? You must find a way to defeat the enemy, no matter what it takes.”
Ianus spoke in a calm voice.
“That’s what Sion did.”
“Ah...”
Everyone fell silent.
When Ianus himself said it, they had no choice but to accept it.
“Berhardt, Independent Knight Brigade Commander.”
“Yes, Your Excellency.”
“Dispatching Sion to the Hermel region was your judgment, wasn’t it?”
“Yes.”
“You knew, but there were internal voices of concern. Sending a young, inexperienced new recruit to such a remote backwater.”
“Considering his performance in the enlistment exam, I judged he could achieve results beyond veteran knights. Above all, I met Sion Aleyas personally and developed trust in him.”
“Yes, and in the end, it was a very sound judgment.”
Ianus spoke as he interlaced his fingers.
“Sion’s achievements are outstanding, but the Independent Knight Brigade Commander’s decision to deploy talent appropriately deserves praise as well.”
“Thank you, Your Excellency.”
“Until a few years ago, the Independent Knight Brigade was a nominal unit. But since you took command, it’s racked up significant achievements.”
The Independent Knight Brigade had always held a low status.
It wasn’t an elite unit directly under headquarters like the Assault Knight Brigade or Inquisition Knight Brigade, nor did it play an essential role in maintaining local society in cooperation with the Holy Spirit Church like the regional knight orders.
That’s why it had been treated as insignificant, but it began to make its presence known after Berhardt became commander.
“I have a feeling the Independent Knight Brigade will achieve even greater feats ahead. I’ll be watching closely.”
“We will continue to strive forward, Your Excellency.”
Seeing Berhardt receive praise, Serxes Aleyas, Helena Aleyas, and others seated there wore uncomfortable expressions.
From their position of aiming for the next Knight Order Leader spot, they didn’t like seeing the Independent Knight Brigade, to which Sion Aleyas belonged, being evaluated highly.
“Then, let’s move on to the next item. According to the training plan recently submitted by the Assault Knight Brigade...”
But Berhardt paid no mind at all.
Receiving all sorts of gazes while seated, he casually brushed back his gorgeous blonde hair with a composed expression.
* * *
“The response was good, Commander.”
“Yes, Gustav.”
After leaving the headquarters building, Berhardt headed to the Independent Knight Brigade with his aide, Gustav.
“This should elevate the Independent Knight Brigade’s status even further.”
“Yes, we were stuck in place for a while due to the 13th Unit’s betrayal, but now we can charge ahead again.”
Berhardt wanted to expand the Independent Knight Brigade as much as possible.
This wasn’t just personal ambition. He believed that in this era, the Independent Knight Brigade was the most crucial part of the Holy Knight Order.
“The Assault Knight Brigade and Inquisition Knight Brigade are elite units with large scales. But they’re stationed centrally and barely move.”
“The Inquisition Knight Brigade gets deployed for major operations occasionally, but the Assault Knight Brigade hasn’t seen real combat in years.”
The Assault Knight Brigade was prepared for full-scale war. In these times without large-scale engagements, it had little chance to shine.
Even the Inquisition Knight Brigade, which faced the Dialogue Church on the front lines, had fewer opportunities than before.
“In times like these, the Independent Knight Brigade, able to move freely in small knight unit sizes, needs to play a bigger role.”
“I hope others understand your intent soon, Commander.”
“Yes, and for that, we need bigger achievements. That’s why... Sion Aleyas’s accomplishment this time is hugely significant.”
Not only did they wipe out the purification priests to prevent the Great Purification, but they also took down the Dialogue Church bishop who was behind it.
It wasn’t a massive feat, but considering it was achieved by an inexperienced small knight unit, it was truly remarkable.
“In the end, your choice to heavily utilize Sion Aleyas was correct, Commander.”
“Even though you opposed it.”
“...At the time, it seemed like you had excessive expectations for those guys.”
Gustav grumbled while scratching his head.
“You tend to make bold choices based on intuition, Commander.”
“That’s why I need you, who makes rational judgments.”
“But this time, my rational judgment was wrong. Your intuition in trusting Sion Aleyas was right.”
“Haha. I win.”
After bursting into laughter, Berhardt stroked his chin and said,
“It’s not finalized yet, but a regional knight order is slated to be stationed in the Hermel region. This incident reconfirmed it’s a prime spot for Dialogue Church infiltration.”
“That’s good.”
“Then we can call that guy back.”
Sion was currently dispatched to the Hermel region as an independent knight unit.
With the public order improvement mission wrapped up, he needed to hand off to the new permanent regional knight order and return.
“Give him a short break, then assign him new duties.”
“Make sure he gets plenty of rest. Those guys were extremely busy in Hermel.”
“No can do.”
Berhardt said with a smile.
“You have to work talented ones hard.”
* * *
Clang! Whoosh! Clang!
“Haat!”
“Ugh!”
Edwin dropped his wooden sword to Sena’s sharp thrust.
The spar, evenly matched for 10 minutes, ended in Sena’s victory.
“Whew, Lady Sena is impressive as always. That thrust was incredibly sharp.”
“No, Edwin. Looking at our record so far, I’m 7 wins to 13 losses. You’re the impressive one.”
“Even so, it’s been four straight wins for you lately. Your skills have improved by leaps and bounds recently.”
“That’s... because you and Sion have been sparring with me often.”
Sena turned her head.
She looked at my face, watching from the side, and sighed.
“Against Sion, it’s 20 losses in 20 matches.”
“Haha, you have to think of Sion differently...”
“I never imagined I wouldn’t win even once in two months...”
It had already been two months since we took down Bishop Olean.
In that time, I’d continued public order improvement activities, leading Edwin and Lieselotte.
Though we’d wiped out all the Dialogue Church infiltrators in the Hermel region, we hadn’t rooted out every criminal hiding in the underworld.
Monsters threatening people in the outskirts also needed to be exterminated wherever spotted.
“You’ve been here quite a while too, sis.”
“A-Are you hoping I leave soon?”
“No, that’s not what I meant...”
Even though Father Serxes had contacted her saying it was time to return to the Assault Knight Brigade, Sena was still staying in the Hermel region.
She seemed to want to gain more experience here.
“We’ve been greatly helped by your presence here, Lady Sena.”
“Really?”
“Of course.”
As a 3-star knight from the Aleyas family, Sena had solid fundamentals.
Her administrative skills were exceptional too; whenever I asked her to handle things, she’d grumble, “Why do you only give me cleanup work?” but get it done flawlessly.
“I see... I was helpful.”
Sena blushed and scratched her head.
She seemed genuinely pleased by my words.
[Can’t get praise from her father Serxes usually? She lights up at compliments.]
‘Serxes isn’t the type to treat his daughter warmly.’
Over the past few months together, Sena and I had built a decent rapport.
Serxes, aiming for the next Knight Order Leader position, probably hoped she’d crush me, but... I wasn’t paying it much mind.
“Everyone, headquarters sent word.”
Then Lieselotte returned from the administrative office.
“A 10-man regional knight order has been officially assigned to the Hermel region.”
“Ah, in that case...!”
“Our mission here is over.”
Public order improvement in the Hermel region.
The task Berhardt had given our 13th Unit was complete.
Our Hermel stay—long yet short—was ending, and it was time to return.
* * *
On the day we left the Hermel region, crowds gathered like clouds.
“Captain! Do you really have to go?!”
“Please stay here forever!”
The residents clung to our clothes.
Lieselotte and I dodged appropriately, but Edwin was sweating as he dealt with them one by one.
“E-Everyone. From now on, the newly assigned regional knight order will handle Hermel’s public order! They’ll stay and protect you, so don’t worry!”
“No! We want our knights!”
“To us, the Holy Knights are you all!”
“Knight! Marry me and stay in Hermel forever!”
“S-Sion! Lieselotte! Help!”
Ignoring Edwin’s plea, I spoke with Administrator Lishuri.
“Then, Administrator Lishuri, please manage the Hermel region well from now on.”
“Captain, thank you... truly, from the bottom of my heart.”
Lishuri bowed her head, voice choked.
“Hermel, stained with corruption and crime, has become this clean all thanks to you.”
“It was possible because of everyone’s cooperation.”
“No. Really, truly...”
“Please work with the Holy Spirit Church and the new regional knight order to maintain Hermel’s peace.”
With that, I turned away.
“You’ve done well, Captain.”
Mordic, leader of the Mordic gang, stood there with arms crossed, looking at me.
“Thanks for sweeping out those Dialogue Church bastards eyeing this place... truly.”
Mordic bowed in gratitude.
He’d lost his whole family to his fanatical Dialogue Church father. Watching me wipe them out seemed to ease the knot in his heart.
“Go elsewhere and smash those bastards too!”
“I’ll do my best.”
After receiving Mordic’s encouragement, I took Edwin and Lieselotte and left.
Sena, walking ahead, turned back and spoke.
“You’ve truly won the locals’ love.”
“You too, sis.”
“I... just helped a little.”
Sena was also returning to headquarters this time.
She’d resume her original duties with the Assault Knight Brigade.
“By the way, Sena sis, could I ask a favor?”
“What?”
“Please take Edwin and Lieselotte back with you.”
“What?”
Not just Sena, but Edwin and Lieselotte looked shocked too.
“Sion, what do you mean?”
“What about you, Sion?”
“I need to make a detour.”
Sena frowned at my words.
“Sion, you have official return orders. You need to go straight back.”
“That’s why I’m asking you, sis.”
“Sion, come on...”
“Please, sis.”
When I looked up at Sena’s face and pleaded, she finally sighed and nodded.
“Fine. I’ll keep it secret, so make sure you arrive on time.”
“Thanks, sis.”
Thanks to soft-hearted Sena, things went smoothly.
“But Sion, where exactly are you detouring to?”
“Something I need to check.”
The destination was Redenburg, a city a bit south from here.
If my guess was right... Dietrich, Archbishop Hausel’s right-hand man, would be hiding there.