Chapter 150
I arrived at the headquarters of the knight order after being summoned by a messenger.
The operations room was already packed with the Second Division's senior officers and knights standing by for deployment.
“Red alert from the watchtower on the western outskirts! At least several hundred identified magical beasts! Their total numbers are estimated to be in the tens of thousands!”
“Issue immediate evacuation orders to the territories along their projected route. We have no time to waste.”
“Reporting! The vanguard is advancing at an abnormal speed! They have currently broken through Barren Forest! If they maintain this pace, they will clash with the first defensive line in no more than an hour!”
“What about the mage corps?”
“The Third and Fourth Mage Corps are moving to the western ramparts!”
“And the cavalry?”
“Ready to deploy! We can depart immediately upon receiving the order!”
“Send them ahead. Prioritize protecting the residents of the villages near Barren Forest. We’re heading for the first defensive line.”
“Yes!”
The atmosphere was so tense that it was hard to believe this was the usually disciplined knight order.
Reports flew back and forth, orders were issued, and messengers hurried in and out of the operations room without pause.
At the center of that chaos, Richard remained perfectly composed.
He stood before the map and issued only the orders that were necessary.
“Commander.”
When I approached, Richard raised his head.
“Ah, Leon. You’ve come.”
“I hurried over because I heard you had summoned me urgently.”
Richard nodded.
“A massive horde of magical beasts is advancing from the west. At this rate, they’ll break through the defensive line and pour into the capital.”
“What would you like me to do?”
“Join the subjugation force. We’ll wipe them all out before they can reach the capital. Get ready at once.”
“Understood.”
I gave him a short answer and left the operations room.
There wasn’t much I needed to prepare.
Even if I layered on armor, it would only hinder me because of how much I moved around.
A single sword and light armor that wouldn’t interfere with my movements would be enough.
I put on my equipment and left the headquarters.
The front courtyard was already in an uproar with people preparing to depart.
Armored knights climbed onto their horses in lines, while soldiers loaded spears and shields onto wagons.
Supply troops hurriedly carried boxes filled with potions and quivers of arrows.
“Clear the road to the western gate!”
“The cavalry departs first!”
“Escort personnel for the mage corps, gather over here!”
It was absolute chaos.
It looked like a war was about to begin.
‘It practically is a war.’
If a horde of tens of thousands of magical beasts was advancing, what else could it be called?
‘More importantly, tens of thousands of magical beasts.’
When I was working as an apprentice knight, I used to go on expeditions to protect the city.
There had been plenty of magical beasts even then, but there had only been a few hundred at most.
But this was a hundred times that number.
I suppose this was the capital. The scale of the magical-beast hordes was on a whole different level from the countryside.
A horde of magical beasts appearing so suddenly probably meant, with a high degree of certainty……
“Leon!”
It happened while I was lost in thought for a moment.
It was Aurora’s voice.
I turned my head and saw her approaching at a brisk pace. Elodie and Helena were with her.
“Leon, what happened all of a sudden? And what’s with that outfit?”
“I hear a horde of magical beasts is advancing. At Commander Richard’s request, I was preparing to deploy with the knight order.”
“Is it serious enough that Leon has to go?”
“It seems so.”
Aurora’s eyes were filled with worry as she looked at me.
“Can’t you stay behind?”
“If I could avoid going, I’d like to stay behind too.”
I meant it sincerely.
With a horde of magical beasts estimated to number in the tens of thousands advancing toward us, what sane person would volunteer to go meet it?
Anyone who did would either be a hero or a madman.
I was neither.
My life was the most important thing to me.
“But now that I’ve been assigned to the knight order, I can’t sit this one out. Besides, it’s also an opportunity to earn merit.”
The fastest and surest place to earn merit as a knight was the battlefield.
Rescue people.
Cut down enemies.
Prevent a crisis.
It was where all those achievements came together.
Of course, it was also much easier to die there, but if there had been a safe way to earn my freedom, I would have chosen it from the start.
“You don’t have to earn that much merit.”
But Aurora still seemed worried.
“There are other ways. This is too dangerous.”
“That’s true, but the other methods would take too long.”
“It’s all right if it takes a long time.”
“I want to become free quickly, though……. Ah.”
Only after saying it did I realize that I had made another mistake.
Generally speaking, a slave’s owner didn’t want the slave to become free.
I wasn’t unaware that Aurora was different from ordinary masters.
Even if she sometimes said strange things, she never treated me like an object or mistreated me.
But a master was still a master.
Saying that I wanted to become free ultimately meant that I wanted to escape her ownership.
So I assumed Aurora wouldn’t be pleased this time either.
But then.
“You’re right. Earning merit is important…….”
Aurora nodded slightly and murmured.
It was almost as if she were encouraging my emancipation.
What was this? Was there some advantage to Aurora in my becoming free?
Otherwise, she never would have reacted like that.
‘Well, she’s probably thinking something strange again.’
It wasn’t as if this was anything new, so I let it go.
“Leon.”
This time, it was Helena.
Unlike the worried Aurora, she wore a resolute expression.
“What is it?”
“I’ll fight alongside you.”
“What? You? Why?”
“Why? I’m an imperial citizen too. When the Empire is in danger, I have to step forward. I’m not as good as you, but I know how to use a sword.”
I knew Helena’s swordsmanship better than anyone.
We had crossed swords hundreds of times since our days as apprentice knights.
As she said, she was more than capable of performing as a knight. I could vouch for her.
“But Helena, you’re a guest. You’re still a student. You don’t need to push yourself.”
“But you let Elodie do it. I don’t want to just stand by and watch, either.”
The expression Helena had worn in the garden earlier came back to me.
The way she had looked at Elodie, then at me, and said that she felt as if she were the only one standing still.
Impatience.
Helplessness.
And the desire to prove that she, too, could do something.
I understood those feelings.
But sometimes you had to pretend not to understand.
If you encouraged them carelessly, they could become feelings that got someone killed.
“That’s a different situation. Miss Elodie’s task didn’t put her in much danger, but this is a war where your life is on the line.”
“That’s true, but…….”
Helena couldn’t easily let go of the idea.
“What’s going on?”
Just then, Richard emerged from the headquarters after finishing his preparations for departure. Unlike me, he was wearing full battle gear.
Richard spotted Aurora, gave her a brief bow, and then turned his attention back to us.
“This is my friend, Helena. She’s also a comrade who has been with me since our days as apprentice knights.”
“Hmm? This girl is your friend? That’s quite interesting. But what seems to be the problem?”
“She says she wants to fight alongside us.”
“I see.”
Richard met Helena’s gaze.
Facing the commander of the Imperial Knight Order, Helena trembled with tension, but she looked straight into Richard’s eyes.
“I’m Helena Weiss. Commander, I would like to fight alongside you as well. I’m confident in my swordsmanship, even if I’m not as good as Leon.”
“Why do you want to fight?”
“Because as someone who aspires to become a knight, I can’t stay somewhere safe by myself when magical beasts are invading.”
“I see.”
Richard nodded as if he understood.
“Leon, how would you assess her skills?”
“……I believe she’s capable of fulfilling her role without becoming a burden to others. Surely you don’t mean to say……?”
“I’m afraid I do.”
He meant that he intended to take Helena to the battlefield.
Helena noticed and her face lit up.
But I couldn’t accept it.
“Helena is still a student who needs more training. It’s too soon for her to participate in a battle of this scale.”
“Among those participating this time are apprentice knights from noble families. There are academy students as well. In terms of timing alone, it’s not too soon at all.”
“She’s His Highness the Imperial Prince’s guest. It makes no sense to send a guest to the battlefield.”
“That may be so. However, how can we stop someone from doing what she wishes when she isn’t committing a crime, especially when she seeks to win honor? If anything, we should be grateful.”
“……”
“I understand your concern for your friend, but don’t forget that trying to break her resolve could itself be discourteous.”
I fell silent.
As I had told Aether, I had no right to stop Helena from making her choice when I wasn’t her guardian.
“……Understood.”
I had no choice but to reluctantly allow it.
No, the very expression of granting permission was strange.
“Good.”
Richard gave a faint smile.
He looked at Helena once more.
“Helena Weiss.”
“Yes, Commander!”
“From this moment on, you are temporarily attached to our Second Knight Order as a wartime knight. Your role will be to escort the mage corps.”
“Thank you! I’ll do my best!”
“No acting alone. No pursuing the enemy. If you receive an order to retreat, withdraw without asking why. Can you do that?”
“I can!”
“Good.”
As an escort for the mage corps, she wouldn’t be on the front line.
Fortunately, it seemed Richard had no intention of having Helena subjugate the beasts herself.
But that didn’t mean it was a safe zone.
The mage corps was the core of the war effort.
Their escorts had to hold the line while the mages prepared large-scale spells.
It was behind the battlefield, but it wasn’t a safe position.
There was no such thing as a safe place on a battlefield.
“I’m sorry for being stubborn, Leon. I know you’re worried about me. But I can’t be the only one left behind.”
The resolve in Helena’s orange eyes had long since solidified. There wasn’t the slightest sign of wavering.
I had no right to shake that resolve.
“Haa.”
I let out a small sigh, as if forcing my worries out with it.
“All right. Who could break your stubbornness? But don’t get hurt, no matter what. If things get dangerous, run away whether you’re assigned to escort duty or not. If you come back injured, we’re through.”
“I understand. I absolutely won’t get hurt.”
Only after Helena answered that way did I feel a little less troubled.
Of course, I knew it was a promise made with words alone.
On the battlefield, anyone could be injured or killed no matter how careful they were.
But at least Helena understood what her choice meant.
That was enough.
No, I decided it was enough.
“Ahem.”
That was when it happened.
An artificial cough came from beside us.
At first, I pretended not to hear it.
“Ahem! Ahem!”
The second cough was more forceful than the first.
In the end, I turned my head.
Elodie was looking at us.
Her clasped hands fidgeted, and her eyes wandered aimlessly from side to side.
Her expression was extremely easy to read.
It was the face of someone who had something to say and was waiting for the right moment to interrupt.
“Miss Elodie.”
“Yes! Did you call me?”
“You’re not about to say something strange, are you?”
“Something strange?”
Elodie gave a small laugh.
It was an awkward laugh.
I knew it.
“I can use magic too…….”
“No.”
“No.”
Helena and I rejected her proposal at the same time.
“I haven’t even finished saying it yet…….”
“There’s no need to hear the rest.”
“I already know without hearing the rest.”
Once again, Helena and I spoke almost in perfect unison.
She was so firm that it was hard to believe she was the same person who had just insisted on fighting alongside us.
“But Helena is going too…….”
“Miss Elodie, you haven’t even fully recovered from the last interrogation. Absolutely not.”
“Hiiing.”
Fortunately, Elodie gave up quickly.
Yes, I’d really have a hard time if you did this too. Stay quietly in the palace with Aurora.
“Are you ready?”
“Yes.”
“Then let us depart.”
Richard moved first.
Before departing, I said goodbye to the anxious Aurora.
“I’ll be back.”
“Okay. Be careful, and don’t overdo it.”
Leaving Aurora’s worries behind, I mounted my horse.
I headed straight for the battlefield where the horde of magical beasts was advancing, together with the knight order.