The Great Escape (1)
The headquarters of the 3rd Legion, Eastern Front of the Empire. A middle-aged man entered the silent conference room.
"Count Berg, what is the situation!"
"It is an order to withdraw. The Central Command has decided to abandon the newly conquered territory in the Great Steppe."
"That’s impossible! After all the effort we put into conquering that land!"
"The supply lines to the Steppe are too vulnerable. Even those nomads have stopped falling for our traps."
"But we can still fight..."
"All the wandering knights and mercenary groups who participated have already pulled out. At this rate, it’s just pouring water into a bottomless pit."
The middle-aged man sighed and picked up a photograph lying on the table. The photo showed a giant of a man covered in tattoos, accompanied by two mages wearing white robes and masks.
"The Northerners are truly shameless. A group that anyone can see are barbarians appears, and they claim they know nothing about it."
"The mages seen there are likely..."
"Yes, they must be the mages who were active in the North. Has the Imperial Intelligence Bureau still heard nothing?"
"They say they couldn't even find a trace. The Northern Grand Duke must have covered it up."
A general with one star on his shoulder, who had been hesitating while glancing between Count Berg and the photograph, finally spoke up.
"I heard the name of the space mage who appeared in the North was Eric..."
"My son would rather die than make a contract with a Great Demon."
The Count’s cold eyes locked onto the general, causing him to tremble. The Count then laughed lightly and patted the general on the shoulder.
"How many people do you think are named Eric? Stop worrying about useless things and prepare for the withdrawal."
"Yes, sir!"
Following the commander's orders, the generals filed out of the conference room. Leonhardt approached the silent Count Berg.
"They really are incredible people... Every time we set a trap, they see right through it and escape..."
"What do you intend to do now?"
"Sir Leonhardt, what do you think? How can they avoid us even when a Swordmaster and a direct imperial knight order are deployed?"
"Those who reach a certain level gain power that transcends the laws of the world. That 'Great Chieftain' must have reached that realm."
"Well, it’s become a headache. I wanted to accumulate enough merit that the Central Command couldn't deny, and then return..."
Count Berg sighed as he collected the documents from the table.
"There isn't a single soldier among the field commanders who doesn't follow you, Count. The support of the Eastern Army is absolute."
"That is all thanks to you, Sir Leonhardt."
"Haha... You should look back on your own achievements before saying that."
When he first arrived at the Eastern Front, he was a man openly ostracized for being a "parachute" appointment. It was only because his backer was a Swordmaster—a hero among imperial soldiers—that it stopped at mere ostracization; otherwise, it wouldn't have been strange if he had been beaten and chased out. However, he proved himself with results. The achievement of advancing a front that had been deadlocked for a long time by dozens of kilometers and annihilating numerous nomadic tribes was enough to turn jealousy into admiration. But even his strategies lost their luster in the face of overwhelming force.
"Isn't it just too much? Having imperial-level forces, including a Swordmaster, wage guerrilla warfare at the regimental level..."
"And they escape using space teleportation magic whenever they sense danger... there's nothing we can do."
"Is that space mage really a 5th-rank? Seeing him use magic, I’d believe it if you told me he was a 7th-rank."
For space mages, magic that allows moving with others is considered extremely difficult. Moving nearly a thousand people simultaneously was virtually impossible.
"Since the mage traveling with him is an Ancient Mage, he must have used amplification magic."
"Following a rare space mage with that precious Ancient Mage... I truly realize these days how an individual can change the tide of a battlefield."
"Haha... Is that something you should be saying, Count?"
Leonhardt chuckled as those words came from the very person who had single-handedly changed the tide of the Eastern Front.
"So, what do you really intend to do? I heard bandit groups are rampant in the southern regions lately; would you like to go there?"
"That would be nice, but... I’ve finished talking with the Eastern Army Commander. The Crown Prince is coming in two months."
"Pardon?"
Count Berg walked to the window and looked out at the vast steppe.
"It seems the 1st Princess has been making moves lately, so the Crown Prince's position must be precarious."
"If so..."
"He intends to lead the Imperial Knights himself and set out. If he conquers the Great Steppe, he can solidify his position as the first successor once again."
"Is that even possible?"
Count Berg held up the photo of the Great Chieftain.
"Conquering the Khan's capital with a small, elite force. If he hires a subspace mage to solve the supply problem, no matter how barbaric they are, they won't be able to stop him."
"Even with a small number, there is probably only one space mage on the entire continent capable of handling military supplies..."
"The Crown Prince seems to have overreached."
A space mage's subspace magic is not omnipotent. Even at the same rank, the size of the subspace varies greatly depending on skill. Only one 6th-rank space mage belonging to the Magic Tower could handle regimental-level supplies. Leonhardt asked the next question that came to mind.
"That kind of conquest wouldn't be sustainable, would it?"
"It's about the achievement, not the practicality. And I have been selected as a staff officer for that expedition."
Having finished organizing the documents, Count Berg left the conference room.
"Even if Sir Leonhardt is left out, my participation is confirmed."
"That can't be. Let's go together."
"Haha... Perhaps the Crown Prince selected me with that in mind."
That day, all imperial forces withdrew from the Great Steppe in unison, and the nomads, who had suffered heavy losses, began to hunker down to reorganize their ranks. It was the moment peace finally came to the Great Steppe after decades.
"Are you sure this is really okay?"
"It’s a barrier created by the Headmaster, an 8th-rank Archmage. It’ll be fine."
In the outskirts of the vast Great Steppe, a giant curtain rippled in a hemispherical shape.
"What if someone bumps into it while passing by?"
"There’s also perception-dampening and approach-denial magic. Anyone passing near here will instinctively avoid the barrier."
"Does that even make sense?"
"Making that kind of reaction happen is what an Archmage does. Of course, it won't work on a Swordmaster or a 7th-rank mage..."
"There's no reason for someone of that level to come here..."
Looking back, I could see a city made of numerous wooden houses. Young barbarians were running around in the streets, and on one side of the city, barbarians were farming with agricultural tools. On the other side, countless horses were running in a giant pasture.
"Was the Great Steppe always this good for farming?"
"This area is special. This black soil is good for farming. Of course, we couldn't have done it without the Northern Grand Duke's support."
"Hey, Eric! A message came from the Grand Duke!"
Kellok found us while we were looking around the village.
"Got it! I'll be right there!"
"Isn't the regular contact still a long way off?"
"Something must have happened. Let's go quickly."
We entered the giant wooden house in the center of the village. The Great Chieftain, who had been sitting in front of a giant crystal ball, stood up. The Northern Grand Duke appeared beyond the crystal ball.
"What's going on?"
"There is good news and bad news."
"Don't drag it out, just tell me."
"This one is becoming more like a barbarian by the day."
"It's comfortable not having to follow etiquette."
"Anyway, to get to the point, the withdrawal of the Imperial Army has been confirmed. For a while, there won't be any Imperial troops appearing in the Great Steppe."
I turned my gaze to look at the Great Chieftain next to me. The Great Chieftain, seemingly indifferent, was picking his ear with a blank expression.
"Well, we've obtained enough resources, so we don't need to raid anymore."
Over the past year, we had succeeded in various types of farming and secured enough horse feed and food. We were now at the point of farming for daily necessities beyond just food. Raiding Imperial supplies was profitable, but not essential.
"That's a relief, then. The next news is that a Great Demon has appeared in the nomads' capital."
"What?!"
I was so surprised I jumped to my feet.
"When! How much damage is there!"
In the original work, the Great Steppe region is never covered at all during this period. In the first place, the setting of the Great Steppe and nomads is rare in romance fantasy. After the female lead was dragged along to the Crown Prince's expedition just once, it only appeared later as a mention that it was destroyed by a Great Demon, and it exited the story.
"Calm down, it appeared inside a dungeon, so the damage isn't great. Instead, another problem has arisen."
"What is it?"
"It seems the Great Demon has completely taken over the inside of the dungeon. At first, they hid it, but a month later, they started publicly recruiting a subjugation party."
"Wait a minute. You mean the Great Demon hasn't been re-summoned for a month?"
Generally, the time a Great Demon stays in the world is within 3 days. There were some that lasted up to a week, but a month was on a completely different scale.
"That's what we're wondering, too. It looks like it has set up house inside the dungeon, and the Khan, unable to endure it any longer, declared a subjugation."
"No, can't they just abandon it?"
"That dungeon seems to be one where trolls appear in large quantities. Since they built the capital there because of that dungeon, it's hard to give it up."
"Sigh... This can't be helped. I'll have to use the identity I created before."
"You're going there?"
"You expected it. I'll be careful, so don't worry."
"You're not the type to stop just because I tell you to. Alright, be careful. Tell me if you run out of mana stones."
With that, the communication cut off. Not all Great Demons were mentioned in the original work, but the one that appeared this time was strange in many ways. In a few months, the Crown Prince's army will advance to the nomads' capital, and a battle will take place there. Nowhere in that content was there a description that a Great Demon had appeared in the capital.
'This is probably... because of me...'
What price must I pay to come back to life after dying? The highest possibility is the consumption of causality. If I consume the causality that rules the world—the greatest power the Goddess possesses—Great Demons or beings from other worlds would have crossed over through the gaps that were created. Since I made this mess, I have to clean it up.
"Ray, I'm sorry, but please come with me."
"If you were going to leave me behind, I was going to hit you, you know? But... do we really have to use that identity...?"
"We have no choice. We've become too famous for us to just pass it off as a coincidence."
Externally, the "us" who were active in the North and the "us" in the Great Steppe are different people, but anyone who isn't a fool would be suspicious. Of course, I had always worn a mask since coming to the Great Steppe in preparation for times like this, but...
"It's the nomads' capital, so there won't be anyone who knows our faces."
"The faces are fine, but the concept is a bit..."
"You have to go that far to avoid suspicion. And it's a chance for you to use honorifics to me; are you going to give that up?"
"I can't give that up!"
I put the white robe I was wearing into the subspace and took out the one-handed sword I had pried from the Northern Grand Duke.
"I really have no luck with that robe."
The robe, crafted by an Archmage of the Magic Tower, had surprisingly survived without being destroyed in the mana explosion. Although several magic circles were broken, it could be used again after being repaired at the Magic Tower through the Northern Grand Duke. However, I couldn't wear the robe for this operation.
"Ray, you change into this blue robe, too."
"I like white..."
"We have to eliminate even the slightest similarities."
I smiled as I handed the blue robe to Ray.
"Then, shall we practice? Come on, say it."
"Ah! That... what are you doing? My hands are empty. Come over here and escort me quickly."
Ray's face, as she reached out her hand to me, turned bright red.
"Say something! And you need to practice, too!"
When I stood there without reacting, Ray shouted.
"At your service. Shall we go, my lady?"
I grabbed Ray's hand and walked ahead. Moving to the loot warehouse, I put on a full plate armor that I had found in advance and that fit my body. From now on, I am not a mage, but a knight.
A young mage lady with excellent magical talent but no sense, and the young knight protecting her. It was an overly cliché combination, but for that very reason, the possibility of being misunderstood was low.
'I've been practicing the Northern Grand Duke's training method in my spare time... so by now, I should be at the level of a barbarian with two tattoos.'
At that level, I could easily defeat most knights, and if Ray's buff magic was added, I would be able to compete even with Imperial Knights.
"Ray, you are now a buff mage. You must not use any other ancient magic."
"I know that much. I'll leave my defense to you, okay?"
"If it comes to it, I'll just use wall magic and claim it's buff magic."
"Don't do that, you have to protect me!"
We couldn't get help from the barbarians for this infiltration. Due to the nature of the barbarians, where even the shortest one was well over 2 meters tall, there was no way to hide our identities.
"But anyway, we're just a frontier noble and a knight without a title, so can't we just talk normally?"
"Huh?"
Our lady and knight play ended before it even began.