The flames burned bright red.
Adventurers and knights… The rapid response units, that had dealt with the undead that had invaded the city beyond the walls, were loading the remains of the undead onto carts and other things and bringing them to the front courtyard of the temple.
The piled-up remains were doused with holy oil one after another and thrown into the fire.
Even the remains of undead that had been separated from their master could not be left alone. If possible, it was desirable to properly treat them with holy energy.
The defiled power still remained in the remains. If left as they were, the remains could possibly revive as independent undead.
The undead were not very scattered and were acting as a unit. Since they were able to defeat them in a group not far from the temple, they were brought here and cremated.
“Is this all of the undead that invaded the city?”
“There is a possibility that they are still hiding, but…”
Knight Kaya Runner of the Second Knight Order was in front of the holy fire of the bonfire, counting the piled-up undead corpses.
Kaya was a woman in her late twenties with the look of a hunting dog. Knights who manage territories as nobles are, of course, mostly men, but the Royal Knight Order is based on meritocracy, and status and gender do not matter (…at least in theory).
Kaya, who had distinguished herself with her outstanding swordsmanship, was one of the captains in the Second Knight Order, and she was leading her own corps in rapid response duties.
Now, the undead that had invaded the city had been exterminated, and the undead outside seemed to have stopped attacking.
But Kaya was hopelessly anxious and uneasy about this.
It is only when a bow is drawn taut that it can shoot an arrow strongly. There is also the analogy of “the calm before the storm.” Something was stuck in her chest…
“Hmm?”
Kaya, who had been staring at the parchment, looked up when she heard a commotion.
She suddenly saw that Arnold, one of the captains of the First Knight Order, who had also been carrying the remains of the undead, was surrounded by citizens who seemed to have come from somewhere.
“Sir Knight! What’s going on outside! Is the city safe!”
“It’s okay, we will protect this city. Citizens, please calm down…”
He seemed to have been caught because he was standing right at the entrance of the site.
Arnold tried to brush them off, but the citizens, looking exhausted like hunted beasts, gathered one after another.
“The protective magic was broken, what was that!”
“I saw a knight fall from the sky!”
“There were undead in the city!”
“Are you really okay!”
――This is bad… It’s only natural that they’d be terrified after seeing something like that. At this rate, panic could break out.
Arnold was at a loss, being told of their anxieties one after another. It was when Kaya took a step forward to help him out.
“Wasn’t it your actions… that summoned that thing?”
Softly.
One of the gathered citizens muttered, and time froze.
Arnold’s face turned red, and he put his hand on the sword at his waist.
“Y-You! How dare you say such a thing!!”
“But isn’t that right? That was the beheaded princess, wasn’t it!?”
“They said they would help if we handed over the King!”
“I thought it was wrong to kill her!”
As if that was the trigger, the citizens criticized Arnold one after another. Normally, they wouldn’t be able to say such things directly to a knight’s face.
But they were desperate to live. They thought they were being driven to the brink of death, and they couldn’t help but accuse the cause of it.
“You’re talking nonsense! All of you are guilty of lèse-majesté… !?”
Kaya grabbed Arnold’s shoulder from behind, who was about to draw his sword and slash.
“Calm down. That’s not what we should be doing right now.”
“Ugh… Guh. Hey! I’ll remember your faces! Remember this later!”
Arnold seemed unable to settle down, but he seemed to want to have nothing more to do with it, and he strode away with a parting shot.
Inevitably, Kaya was forced to take Arnold’s place. The citizens were also restless.
She felt a slightly bloodthirsty atmosphere.
Kaya pushed up the front cover of her helmet. The citizens looked a little puzzled. She didn’t really like “using being a woman as a weapon,” but… Kaya knew that in times like these, it was better for her, as a woman, to be the one to step in. Kaya, a woman who was the captain of the Royal Knight Order, was a bit of a celebrity in the Royal Capital.
“I am Kaya Runner of the Second Knight Order. I can more than understand your anxiety. But please rest assured. A small number of undead invaded the city, but the Knight Order exterminated them without any civilian casualties. The city walls and gates have not yet been breached, and we are in an advantageous position and are conducting a defensive battle. …We, the Royal Knights, will fight until the last one of us dies to protect you. So, please calm down for now. Please stay with your family and loved ones.”
She was aware that it was a bit of a sly way of putting it. But it was a means to an end. If there was panic here, they wouldn’t be able to protect what they could protect.
Kaya remembered the commotion from a month ago. It was a bitter memory. Citizens trying to escape from the “Vengeful Rose Princess” had piled up, trampled on those who had fallen, and more than a dozen people had died just from that. She didn’t want a ridiculous situation where people died before the monsters even arrived.
“…I understand.”
“I… also said too much.”
“Please do your best.”
Reluctantly, the people who had gathered retreated. Kaya sighed, realizing that things had calmed down.
There were probably people among the citizens who had accosted Arnold who had cheered for Rene’s execution. Surely. Even so, at this point, they were driven by a desire to find and hang the cause of the crisis (from someone other than themselves).
There were probably citizens who thought it would be better if the army of undead retreated in exchange for Hilbert. Surely. Even so, the reason they didn’t resort to force was that they were afraid of the undead, but they were also afraid of the knights who protected the king. And they had hope that the knights would win. If the Knight Order collapsed… what would happen? Kaya was able to handle the situation well, but the fact that these kinds of people were appearing meant that it wouldn’t be unnatural for the same thing to happen throughout the city. If the citizens caused confusion, it would interfere with the actions of the Knight Order.
Kaya also had an evil god whispering in the back of her mind, “Why don’t we just hand over Hilbert?” (Note that it’s not really an evil god whispering, it’s just an idiomatic expression, so the evil god would consider it reputational damage.) But now they had to unite. She had a premonition that if they were disturbed, they would only be taken advantage of.
“Captain, come here! There’s a fight…”
Kaya was awakened from her gloomy thoughts when she was called. One of her subordinates was running towards her in a panic.
“…What happened?”
Even for the proud Royal Knight Order, it was not uncommon for hot-blooded warriors to quarrel. But it was rare for it to turn into a sword fight. It was an abnormal situation.
Behind the temple, one of Kaya’s subordinates and one of Arnold’s subordinates were slumped down, restrained by their colleagues. To make matters worse, they had both drawn their swords, and they had both been injured.
A priest who rushed over cast <<Healing Promotion Regeneration>>, and the surrounding knights were treating the wounds.
“Hey, do you draw your swords to fight? What mountain bandits are you from?
Even if you were to have a duel, you shouldn’t be doing it now.”
“This guy!”
Kaya’s subordinate thrust out his sword and pointed at the other person.
“He said that the Second Knight Order is making a deal with the undead…!”
“What?”
What’s going on? When Kaya looked at the other person, he also shouted back.
“It’s strange! Three of my colleagues died in front of me! But the guy from the Second who was with them didn’t have a single scratch!”
“That’s just a coincidence!”
“There’s no such thing as a coincidence! In that fierce battle, none of the Second Knights died!!”
Yes, that was something Kaya had also thought was unnatural. The undead soldiers were choosing to kill only the First Knights. Even those who invaded the city were thorough in not harming the citizens.
Kaya only thought it was eerie, but from the perspective of the First Knights, it would be different.
“…Arnold.”
Arnold let out a bitter sigh when Kaya turned to him, meaning “You handle it.” Then, he crouched down in front of the knight who had been fighting.
“Calm down. That’s not something you should be saying now. It’s not for you to decide. It’s up to the Captain to investigate and judge. …I’ll bring this suspicion to the Captain’s attention. So for now, don’t talk nonsense, and just do the job you’re told to do.”
“What can the Captain do now! I was against that coup d’état in the first place! But if I’m going to be killed just because I’m a member of the First Knight Order… I’ll throw away this armor! I’m going to run away with my mother!!”
“Hey!? How dare you say such a thing! Desertion is a serious crime!”
“Shut up!!”
“Damn it, hold him down!!”
The surrounding knights rushed to the knight who had started to run amok. A hand-sword was slammed into the neck of the knight who had thrown away his helmet, and the unconscious knight was dragged away.
“Honestly. Calming down your subordinates is also part of being a superior…”
Kaya’s words, which were about to turn into a curse, trailed off. Arnold was in a position to protect his subordinates, and he was putting on pressure that was close to bloodlust.
“…You’re kidding, right?”
“It’s up to the Captain to decide. But I’ll be careful enough to protect myself.”
“C-Calm down. There’s no way I would do something like that…”
“…”
In the tense atmosphere, the two glared at each other as if they were facing each other on the battlefield, and then they both retreated.
The bonfire was still going on. The brilliantly shining holy fire was the result of defeating the unclean undead, but Kaya’s heart was not clear even when she saw it.
“Hey… If the undead would retreat if we made a deal, do you think we should accept that deal?”
“Huh?”
“It’s a hypothetical question. If they were only interested in the First Knight Order and His Majesty from the beginning, I’m wondering if it’s not a good idea to provoke them…”
Her subordinates were lowering their voices, but they were having a conversation that was unbecoming of knights. …Kaya could understand how they felt.
There’s no way the First Knight Order and the Second Knight Order can cooperate properly in this state. It’s fine for now, but what will happen when the battle starts…
――Undead, why did you retreat?
Don’t tell me you “created time for them to doubt each other”?
It might be misplaced anger, but Kaya was still irritated.
Citizens cast a suspicious eye on the knights, and the knights see the shadow of the enemy in each other…
The consciousness gap between those who were in danger and those who were safe…
If the battle had continued all along, everyone would have been desperate without having time to think about unnecessary things.
The fact that there was time to take a breather caused the gears to shift somewhere, and a creaking sound was heard.
At that time, she felt something burn in her chest. She took out the communication talisman “Caller” that she had put away, and the letters on the surface glowed red, emitting a wave of power.
“…Captain.”
When she stroked the surface to activate it, she heard a voice from it. A slightly jaded and sloppy voice, but a voice full of wit.
“Can you hear me? Everyone. I’m going to tell you about the next operation. The deployment will change significantly, so listen carefully so you don’t make any mistakes.”
Kaya was honestly relieved. Our Captain still had another move. Then we were still okay.