Chapter 162
－From the Perspective of the Captain of the Emperas Kingdom's First Order of Knights－
I check the final report on Elegari Town.
Death toll: 847 (including former slaves).
Missing: 141 (including former slaves).
Injured: Numerous.
Suppressing a sigh, I raise my eyes from the report.
Standing before me are Altrogue, captain of the Second Order of Knights, and Bislog, his vice-captain.
"Good work. That must have been a punishing march. You must be tired."
"No, I'm fine. The incident in Elegari Town is already spreading to other towns and villages. What do you intend to do?"
"...Nothing. It's a cowardly approach, but I can't think of anything else right now."
"Understood."
"Ah, Captain Altrogue, make sure you get some rest. For your subordinates' sake, too."
"...Understood."
At my words, the vice-captain looks relieved.
If I didn't say this, Captain Altrogue would immediately move on to another task and forget to let his men rest.
It's not so much that he forgets; he seems to assume that since he's fine, his subordinates will be fine too... but his men can hardly be expected to put up with that.
They once came to me in tears while we were assigned to the same mission.
Seeing the vice-captain's face now, I can't help but smile wryly.
I watched the two leave the room, and a deep sigh escaped me.
The Emperas Kingdom is now in the midst of turmoil.
Elegari Town, mentioned in the report, was one of its victims.
A conflict broke out between the townspeople and the former slaves, and the town was destroyed.
The Second Order of Knights arrived at Elegari Town to find it being consumed by flames.
When a subordinate reported that fighting had broken out in town, I immediately dispatched the Second Order of Knights, but they didn't make it in time.
It took only two days for an entire town to be destroyed.
The former slaves had been forced to handle the behind-the-scenes work that kept towns and villages running.
You could say they knew better than anyone which parts of a town to bring down, and how.
There was no way people who'd lived without hardship until now could fight them and win.
Since the outcome was clear from the start, I sent members of the First Order of Knights to villages and towns across the country to persuade their leaders, but...
It seems they couldn't truly understand until there were casualties.
But the casualties are far too many.
Across the country, voices are now rising in opposition to the emancipation of slaves.
But once word of what happened in Elegari Town spreads, those voices will probably die down, even if only for a little while.
If we don't take some measures during that time, there will be many more victims.
...What should I do?
...
The door to the room burst open.
Startled, I looked over to see Kurubiabis, deputy captain of the Third Order of Knights, rushing in in a panic.
"The magic stones! ...Some of the magic stones have been stolen!"
I gasped at those words.
I'd asked the Third Order of Knights to guard the magic stones in case something happened.
"I'm sorry. The captain..."
Right, Captain Viltua of the Third Order of Knights had indeed worried me a little.
But we were short on manpower, so I'd turned a blind eye to it.
"I'm sorry. This was my mistake."
The Third Order of Knights had split into two factions: those who sided with the captain and those who sided with the vice-captain.
The vice-captain understood the need to emancipate the slaves, but the captain...
According to the vice-captain, nearly half of the Third Order of Knights had vanished along with some of the stolen magic stones.
The vice-captain before me repeatedly bowed his head, his face pale with anguish.
"Calm down. This is something I should have anticipated."
That's right.
There were only a few knights who supported slavery, but there were still a fair number of them.
The First, Second, and Fourth Orders of Knights had seen the slaves being protected by something inside the castle.
Even those who hadn't seen it had heard the rumors, as well as what happened to those who laid hands on the slaves.
To a knight, having one's memories and knowledge stolen is terrifying—it means losing everything.
Those who had experienced that terror firsthand were, you could say, eager to emancipate the slaves.
But the Third Order of Knights had been stationed in the castle town and various villages, so they hadn't felt that terror for themselves.
That difference had become a major turning point now.