Chapter 82
Several days had passed since the black sphere appeared in the sky above Bassau.
More than two thousand knights and adventurers had gathered under Leo's command as he held back the army of skeletons near Bassau.
"Rotate the front line! Those coming off the line, rest immediately!"
Leo gave the order, pulling back the group that had been holding back the skeletons at the front and sending in a fresh group.
To buy as much time as possible, they had been holding back the skeletons in three shifts.
However, the number of skeletons emerging from Bassau continued to grow. They had initially succeeded in half-encircling Bassau, but now they were being half-encircled themselves.
"Prince Leonart, you should rest as well."
"I can't do that. This is the critical moment."
Linfia urged Leo to rest, but he refused and continued directing the battle without taking a break.
Leo had the clearest grasp of the battle situation, and therefore understood better than anyone how dangerous things had become.
When the knights of the neighboring lords and the many adventurers first arrived, they had used their numbers to half-encircle Bassau. Since then, however, the number of skeletons pouring out had increased sharply, and they had begun to spot undead monsters even more powerful than skeletons here and there.
The monsters emerging from Bassau were not simply spawning on their own. They were appearing in response to our movements.
Leo was certain of it. If that was the case, showing even the slightest opening could allow them to break through.
As long as even the slightest possibility remained, Leo could not afford to let his guard down.
If Leo and the others were overwhelmed here, the masses of skeletons that had poured out would scatter across the South. The neighboring lords had dispatched their main forces—their knights—so they would probably be unable to stop them.
If that happened, the South would descend into unprecedented chaos, and the Imperial army would move to suppress it. The defenses along the border would grow weaker.
The nations watching for an opening in the Empire would never overlook such a small opening.
"But if you fall, Your Highness, the front line will collapse."
"I'm still all right. If I really can't go on, I'll tell you."
"I see... Then may I have a moment of your time? Surely it would be all right to entrust command to the Imperial Guards for a little while."
"I don't mind, but has something happened?"
"There were several injured knights among the people who fled from Bassau. One of them has regained consciousness and wishes to speak with you."
"I see... Then I'll hear him out. We may learn something about this anomaly."
With that, Leo entrusted command to the nearby Imperial Guards and headed for the camp built behind the front line.
The camp held resting knights and adventurers, as well as civilians who were too badly injured to move.
Leo entered a tent at the edge of the camp.
"Your Highness."
"Continue treating him."
Leo stopped the older man who was trying to greet him with a gesture of his hand.
The man, who had worked as a physician in the city, was an unusual person who had stayed behind to treat the wounded despite having the chance to flee.
Thanks in part to the physician's treatment, the knight had managed to regain consciousness, but he had lost his right hand and suffered a deep wound in the abdomen.
"I am Leonart, the Eighth Prince. Are you the knight who wanted to speak with me?"
"Y-Your Highness... Please, save my lord..."
"You mean the lord of Bassau?"
"Yes... Lord Dennis had been threatened for many years... Because of that, a human-trafficking organization used Bassau... There was a prison in the basement of the manor where the children they had captured were locked away..."
It was a shocking confession.
But Leo merely furrowed his brow and said nothing.
He believed what came next was important and that he could not interrupt.
"Lord Dennis... rose up to save the children and went down into the basement of the manor... I accompanied him for part of the way, but... I was wounded, and my comrades carried me outside... After that, that sphere emerged from the manor... Cough, cough..."
The knight doubled over, coughing up blood.
The physician wiped away the blood, but the knight groaned in pain and spat out more.
But the knight's left hand reached toward Leo.
Leo firmly grasped that hand.
"Please... save the lord... If... if it is already too late for him... then Rebecca..."
"Rebecca?"
"She... has the lord's letter... Please, restore the honor of House Sitterheim... We did not cooperate willingly..."
"If what you've told me is true, I swear on my name that I will restore its honor. So rest for now."
"Thank you... Thank you... Thank... you..."
The light faded from the knight's eyes, and the strength ebbed from the left hand Leo held. The physician shook his head. The knight had used the last of his strength to make that plea.
Even so, Leo continued to hold the hand for some time.
"Your Highness..."
"The lord entered the basement of the manor, and the black sphere was born. That means the black sphere is connected to the basement."
"The children are the most likely possibility..."
"That's right. Children with high magical power or special aptitudes must have been gathered there. Something may have triggered this anomaly."
"If that's the case, this anomaly won't end unless we do something about that black sphere."
"Yes."
Leo gave the knight's hand one last, firm squeeze, then placed it on the knight's chest.
He left the tent, entrusting everything that followed to the physician.
Ahead of him, the black sphere still hung serenely above Bassau.
"If that sphere emerged from the manor, then it wouldn't be strange if someone were inside it, would it?"
"That is true, but... Surely you aren't planning to investigate it?"
"Of course. I came here to save the people who were kidnapped. They are victims. I want to save them."
"...I appreciate your feelings. If I thought my sister might be in there, I couldn't sit still either. But now, you must make a calm decision. You are a person of great importance who seeks the imperial throne."
"Precisely because I seek the throne, I have to save them. I want to become an emperor who can save those I want to save. But if I abandon someone along the way, I know I could never become such an emperor. People are creatures of habit. If I abandon someone once, I will surely grow accustomed to abandoning others. That's why I won't retreat."
With that, Leo smiled at Linfia.
At that moment, Linfia saw Leo superimposed over Al.
On the day they departed, she saw Al handing over a pouch filled with a large sum of money, and Leo, now steeling himself for what lay ahead.
There was nothing they had in common.
Their appearances were similar. But that was all. And yet, something about them overlapped.
Only then did Linfia realize that the fundamental principles guiding their actions were the same.
"So you really are twins..."
"Hmm? Did I resemble my brother?"
"Yes, very much. Both Prince Arnold and Prince Leonart act for the sake of others."
"It's not that admirable. I don't know about my brother, but I simply know my own weakness. I'm the sort of person who would eventually get used to turning my back on people. I'm fighting with all my strength to keep that from happening."
Leo gave a wry smile as he spoke.
How wonderful it would be if he could simply compartmentalize things and switch his thoughts whenever necessary.
He was clumsy that way. That was why he had studied all the time. He felt that if he played around like Al, he would never be able to come back.
Al, however, studied whenever he himself decided that he needed to study.
In a sense, that could be called a talent.
That was why Leo envied Al.
But he had to stop envying Al soon. The time for wishing for what he did not have was over.
"I am not my brother. I can't adapt flexibly to whatever comes my way. I realized that painfully when I was serving as a plenipotentiary. So I decided to move straight ahead without wavering. I made that decision when I decided to come here. I will do things my way."
"...I understand. Then I will accompany you. However, that opportunity is still some way off."
"That's right."
Looking ahead, Leo saw that the front line had begun to be pushed back.
It wasn't only the skeletons anymore. New monsters had begun appearing in greater numbers.
Their strength was increasing along with their numbers.
Charging here and throwing away their lives would be reckless. Leo was not that foolish.
He had decided to save them. He had no intention of letting that opportunity pass him by. But he would not act when there was no opportunity to seize.
For now, they had to endure.
Eventually, their chance would surely come.
Trusting in that moment, Leo mounted his horse and issued orders, sometimes riding to the front line himself to swing his sword.
Leo, at least, possessed a strong will.
The others did not.
"Guh!"
"Aaaah!"
Those whose spirits faltered and whose stamina began to fail started falling one after another.
Each time, Leo went to their rescue, but before long, those cracks spread across the entire front line.
It was not long after that when Leo received a critical report.
"Report! The left wing has been breached!"
"What?! Deploy the reserve unit!"
"We won't make it in time! You must flee!"
"Fleeing would be pointless. They'll strike us in the back anyway."
Saying that, Leo snatched the horn from an Imperial Guard and blew it again and again.
Then.
"Is there anyone with the resolve to become a hero alongside Leonart Leaks Adler?! Who can still swing a sword?! Who can still run?! Who can still face forward?! Knights, adventurers, civilians—it doesn't matter! Anyone who has not lost the will to fight here and now, gather under my command!"
Leo held his sword high.
Then he blew the horn again.
The sound of the horn echoed far into the distance.
Hearing the faint sound of that horn, Liese smiled.
"Everyone, pick up the pace! The battlefield is close!"
At the head of the column, Liese's blue cloak fluttered as she led a thousand-strong cavalry regiment at a gallop.
People of resolve throughout the southern Empire were beginning to gather.