The Art of Proof (15)
"Although the opposing player managed to flee, you used the opportunity to seize two baronies. Compared to the institutions that existed on Earth, they’re by no means small territories, even if they’re only minor domains. Of course, there’s still the matter of cleanup."
Unlike Brant, where the conquest had unfolded slowly and stealthily, with every approach quietly pinned down in advance, the process of taking Waut Barony had been rough, reckless, and razor-thin at every turn.
And, naturally, the difficulty of cleaning up afterward rose just as sharply. It had been hard enough catching those who fled; subduing the ones who kept resisting while driven mad by the zombie outbreak had taken time as well.
Zombies, and us. From the locals’ perspective, there was no other way to describe it but as hell on earth.
"The loot’s really not that appetizing."
And the biggest disappointment, in my opinion, was that this time we hadn’t managed to secure a single unit with over 60% compatibility. It was largely because so many had already been sacrificed to the zombie disaster the enemy had unleashed.
In the end, all we could salvage was the nourishment extracted from corpses and prey. Even that, though, was on the verge of being consumed by the upkeep of the minions we’d overproduced for the war.
"Didn’t you expect this? Your species trait, in truth, is not the sort that should ever come to a halt. Once it catches fire, your fate is to burn endlessly, without end. You’ve been restraining it until now, but the time has come."
"...No helping it, I suppose."
I frowned at Agares’s words. The plan had gone slightly more hurried than intended, and we’d entered the fight earlier than expected, but as he said, once it had begun, stopping was impossible.
"Then, for the wars that are still to come, we should hurry the work of settling the units as well. Considering the nature of your trait, its utility may not be especially high, but it will certainly help."
With a soft laugh, he emphasized one icon. Interplay Item, the function that allowed communication with units. As it happened, I’d already prepared the item. Whether this was the right thing or not, I couldn’t say.
"What is this?"
"Not my item. A gift. I’m just getting it wrapped now."
"F-for... one of the women?"
"Hm. My cousin."
Late in the evening, Im Chan-gyu, who had gone to fetch a package delivered to me, tilted his head and asked what the items listed on the box actually were. I gave him a rough answer, figuring it would be awkward if I let him misunderstand.
"You managed to find something like this and even order it in the meantime? Guess you really weren’t tense at all. We’ve got our first match tomorrow, too. And the other team is the favorite to win, at that."
"I am tense. I just don’t show it. It doesn’t help anything."
I smiled faintly and shook my head. As he’d said, tomorrow would be our first match in the league, whose season had just opened today. Our opponent was a team that had ranked below us last year,
but both sides had undergone major roster changes, so the result was hard to predict. For now, pre-match predictions leaned toward the opposing team having the edge, since they were built around experienced veterans, while our side was packed with raw rookies.
"Don’t get too worked up. Our scrim results have been pretty good so far, haven’t they?"
"Practice is practice. There’s a reason people call it practice-doer, you know? Honestly, I’m so nervous I could—"
"I’m telling you, tomorrow won’t feel that bad."
Im Chan-gyu had never played a match in a stadium packed with spectators, so he seemed to be shaking apart at the seams. I reassured him with absolute confidence.
Of course, the me from the past would have snorted at that look and asked how the hell I would know.
"You can really believe that?"
"Not just me. Everyone."
But now things were different. To the boy who had gained a sliver of hope from my words, I nodded once more.
And this confidence wasn’t baseless, either. In the practice games we’d kept playing until now, I’d already confirmed our potential.
There was my own skill, strengthened over and over through the rewards of a cruel game, and there was my ability to make the team’s coordination flow as though we were one body.
Built on that foundation, I could see a clear victory ahead.
"Looks like, even in real life, you’re steadily moving forward one step at a time, just like in the game."
"Surprisingly, we’ve only just started. The important thing is how far we can go in this one year."
After taking the package from Im Chan-gyu, I shut the door to my room and picked up my phone again.
Honestly, I’d intended to spend this year simply showing my skill and using it as a chance to move to a better team next year, but once I’d confirmed what I was capable of—once it became possible to make this team stronger—there was no need to do that anymore.
I would hone my abilities to the utmost and climb all the way to the highest point I could reach. That was my goal.
"Well, that’s your business. I’ll only involve myself in matters of the game. It seems you’re ready, then. What have you brought me?"
"I-it’s nothing that grand."
I flinched at Agares’s words. He’d said it would be nice if I gave him a gift, but I hadn’t prepared anything especially extravagant.
If I could simply show him that I was watching, that I trusted him, that would be enough. In the first place, it made no sense to give a gift by my standards to a being who lived in a world entirely different from mine, as something other than human.
"I think this should be enough..."
"I shall keep my words to a minimum."
Agares merely shrugged and said nothing more.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
"We’ve been pursuing and striking as hard as we can, but many have already crossed the borders and fled to nearby territories."
"Nothing to be done about that. For now, we just need to finish cleaning up what’s left."
The war had ended in victory, but their work was far from over. Karin and Robinson had finally crushed the massed zombies, and now they moved their forces according to orders, throwing themselves into the cleanup.
"Lark, you’d better head north."
"..."
Having naturally seized command by leveraging her rank within the limited range assigned to them, Karin also gave orders to Lark.
But Lark seemed strangely distracted.
"Lena will be joining us soon too. That girl will be the first to stand at the front, no matter what."
"I know that."
"Are you jealous of Lena, by any chance?"
Karin watched Lark’s reaction and seemed to understand the reason, smiling faintly. Lark, however, couldn’t actually rebut her words.
He already knew that Lena had been summoned by the Great Lord, so he couldn’t deny that his feelings were wavering.
"Lena has earned great merit, and she’s devoted herself to His Grace longer than anyone else. And yet, since He’s distributing investment evenly for the sake of the group’s overall strength, it wouldn’t be strange for Him to take special care of Lena as well."
Karin listed the facts one by one, trying to soothe Lark. Of course, Lark had no intention whatsoever of making a fuss over this. He only burned with the desire to be recognized himself.
"With more kids joining the pack, it’s getting on my nerves."
"You don’t seem to mind, though."
"I’m an adult. I don’t think the favor of the one we serve is something that gets divided over something as trivial as a gift."
Watching Lark walk away, Robinson let out a dry laugh.
[Attack Count Leon County to the east. Simultaneously, attack House Schubern to the south.]
"A war without rest. War, and more war!"
This time, things were different. They were no longer in the position to avoid battle; they had to fight, and they had to strike first.
Tasked with leading a detachment to clear the eastern side of Waut Barony, Robinson grinned when he saw the additional order to attack House Leon farther east.
The reason for the attack, even before the cleanup was fully complete, was the Curse of the Corpse Fiend that had emerged there. They had caught signs that the opponent player who had escaped was now establishing a foothold there and stirring up trouble.
And if he was being honest, the power that kept producing zombies was irritating enough that he wanted to move faster anyway.
"Not bad. I haven’t gained a thing from spending all this time fighting nothing but worthless trash."
Robinson, who longed to evolve through battle against the strong, welcomed the order. After all, it was far better to fight opponents still brimming with momentum than refugees or routed stragglers.
What’s more, he was not going alone. He was accompanied by a host of troops who had kept gathering data through repeated battles and refining themselves through constant improvements and corrections.
Through this process, they were becoming not merely a cluster of monsters, but a true legion—one that divided roles and uses with exact precision, moving as a real army should.
"I’ll head south."
"Do as you like. I hear the south is already wary of our movements and has moved its soldiers first, ready to attack if necessary. But in the end they’ll be on the same level as the baronial houses we’ve dealt with so far, so I’m not interested."
Then came another who declared, with complete confidence, that she would go south. Robinson clicked his tongue, but nodded as if he didn’t care.
Since Lena had intended to move however she pleased regardless of his agreement, she snorted and sent the soldiers with her off in a separate direction.
He’s one thing when he’s trying to comfort people, but hasn’t he gotten a little too arrogant?
Robinson sighed inwardly at the sight.
On Lena’s turned back, in her hair—a thick black braid that contrasted with a white ribbon ornament tied into it—there was a hair tie adorned with a pure white bow.
Anyone could tell, without even asking, who had given her that insignificant little treasure, the item that had become her number one possession.
---