Chapter 139
－Emperas Kingdom: First Knight Order Commander's Perspective－
"Good work."
"It was no trouble. I'm your right-hand man, after all."
A right-hand man, huh.
I think I've been making my right-hand man work quite hard.
Coordinating and selecting the members, preparing supplies... I've asked far too much of them.
I thought investigating the ancient ruins was a good opportunity.
As a way to get the young people who had no need to share in our crimes out of here.
Alongside the public expedition, I prepared another group to support it.
This one is a group of young children serving the castle, children brought here from impoverished backgrounds.
The stated purpose was to assist with their living expenses... It was quite a stretch, but we managed it.
The king is certainly a frightening person.
But everyone in this castle has experienced it.
The power of this world's king.
The terror of wielding power without ever showing himself.
And the king's willingness to invoke treason even over rumors only made that fear worse.
The king doesn't seem to realize it, but he looks nothing short of terrified.
He must be afraid of reality.
My friend enters the room at the sound of a knock.
Their expression is much calmer than before.
But when our eyes meet, they give me a smug look and report.
"The expedition seems to have made it to safety. I also blocked off the path to the slave quarters and opened that other route before coming back."
"Thank you."
Once they make it to safety, they'll be all right.
Even if it were discovered now that people had escaped, their pursuers couldn't catch up right away.
That means we won't have to lose lives that never needed to be lost.
The slaves should probably be able to escape as well.
Over the past few days, the number of slaves visibly regaining their spirits has increased.
The reason doesn't matter. What's important is giving them more opportunities to escape.
I've broken the locks on the cages and left a map showing the route somewhere visible.
I spread a rumor among the slave overseers that if they interfered with the slaves, they'd incur the forest's wrath and die next.
The fact that the attacks were actually happening must have done the trick; no one goes near the slave quarters anymore.
And my friend opened the door to the path outside the castle that we'd built in secret, then came back.
My men will probably guide the slaves away from the castle, as far as possible.
I gradually increased our numbers and made preparations for this day.
All while making sure the king never found out and watching for spies sent by the Fifth Knight Order.
"What are the mages doing?"
"One of the other commanders looked into it. Apparently, they're being held under house arrest and forced to examine the magic stone."
"They should give up already."
My friend and I can't help laughing at my subordinate's words.
If they could, it wouldn't have come to this.
But I never expected the commander of the Second Knight Order and his men to side with us.
Still, they're a reassuring escort for the expedition.
Thinking about what lies ahead, I place my hand on my sword.
To change this country.
Suddenly, white light rains down over the entire castle.
The room turns pure white, and spots dance before my eyes.
"Commander."
"It's all right. Stay calm!"
An attack from the forest?
I tense up at the memory of my body being crushed.
By the time my vision returns, the room is back to normal.
I don't feel anything strange in my body.
"What happened?"
The castle has fallen unnaturally silent.
Everyone is probably too terrified to move.
I take one deep breath.
I find myself smiling a little at how unnaturally fast my heart is beating.
I check outside through the window.
I can see soldiers fleeing the castle.
"What do we do?"
"As planned."
At my friend's words, I take up my sword and leave the room.
The light from the forest startled me, but all the preparations are complete.
All that's left is to carry it out.
...
We reach the king's bedroom far too easily.
I'd braced myself for a struggle, so this is anticlimactic.
The forest's attack made everyone ignore our movements, and no one tried to stop us.
As castle guards, this gives us something to think about, but it helped us today.
Was that attack meant to help us?
...No way.