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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: FusionX
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There were those who didn’t believe.
They argued that a rune capable of turning an entire castle into charcoal couldn’t possibly exist. Even if it did, they insisted, it couldn’t be created in a mere half-day.
“Alright! Even if it’s true! Do you think the suppression force would actually use it? With the Saintess inside the castle?!”
They presented their logic, convinced that the rune wouldn’t be activated.
“Ah…”
“Uh…”
But the moment the rune materialized, its purple light ominously glowing above their heads, their reason and logic crumbled.
“Damn it! We’re getting out of here!”
Even the remaining Southern Republican forces attempted to escape through the back gate.
The sight of the rune had instilled a primal fear in their hearts, overriding all other thoughts.
Perhaps the Saintess was a decoy to lure them in.
Or perhaps the suppression force was so desperate that they were willing to resort to such a cruel tactic.
They rationalized their decision with excuses.
But there was no other option but to flee.
“What about the Saintess and the residents?!”
“We were ordered to leave them! We’re escaping alone!”
“…!”
Everyone was speechless, horrified.
But no one dared object.
There couldn’t be any survivors, including the Saintess.
They had to become victims of the suppression force’s brutal massacre.
They couldn’t leave a single witness who knew that the Southern Republican forces had abandoned the residents.
“Attention, residents of the Fourth Castle. Our analysis of the large-scale rune above the castle has concluded that it is not an offensive rune. The Fourth Castle is safe. Please remain calm and continue with your daily lives…”
A broadcast message through a communication artifact started playing.
But it kept repeating the same message.
“The Fourth Castle is safe. Please remain calm and continue with your daily lives. Attention, residents of the Fourth Castle…”
The communication room was empty.
The communication artifact was playing a recorded message.
The back gate was closed, and all military units had retreated far from the Fourth Castle.
But the residents of the Fourth Castle, still believing in the broadcast, were packing and unpacking their evacuation bags.
Rumble…
The heat emanating from the rune was palpable.
It was far beyond a typical summer day.
They looked up to see a red mass, as large as a mountain, descending from the sky.
“Ah…!”
They finally realized.
It wasn’t a red circle.
It wasn’t a painting in the sky.
It was a sphere.
A giant, blazing ball of fire.
They stared at the sky, their necks craned, and knew.
They were going to die.
“Huh? Look!”
A child, oblivious to the impending doom, pointed at something.
“Why is the flag being lowered?”
“…?”
They turned their heads.
The flag of the Southern Republic was being lowered from the flagpole above the main gate of the Fourth Castle, the symbol of the castle.
They stared blankly, confused, and then—
“Huh? The fireball?!”
The rune started absorbing the fireball.
The descending fireball rose back into the sky, disappearing from view.
The heat and the red sphere vanished in an instant, and then—
Boom…!
Purple light exploded in the sky, scattering in all directions.
And then there was nothing left.
Only a clear, blue sky.
The residents wondered if it had all been a dream.
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Snap.
I snapped my fingers, and the core of the rune shattered.
The rune, losing its core, crumbled, unable to maintain its form.
Its destruction was a beautiful sight, befitting its massive scale.
‘It’s a bit of a shame.’
It was the most mana I had used since the lightning magic in Whist Forest.
I would be lying if I said I didn’t want to see it in action.
But I had to deactivate it, with the residents, the suppression force prisoners, and the Saintess below.
I wasn’t a psychopath. I couldn’t just let it explode.
“Move quickly! We need to secure the gate controls!”
But it wasn’t over yet.
We had to disable the castle’s defenses…
It was going surprisingly smoothly.
There were no rebel forces left inside the castle. Only a handful of lightly armed castle guards remained.
“W-we surrender! We surrender!”
“We yield!”
“…”
Most of them weren’t even in battle formation.
They must have been terrified by the sudden appearance of fully armed knights.
They surrendered without even attempting to resist.
I could understand.
It would be like a group of reservists guarding a post with old M16 rifles, only to have enemy tanks suddenly appear behind them.
“The Fourth Castle is safe. Please remain calm…”
“Ha.”
I heard a familiar broadcast message playing on repeat.
Were they trying to prevent the residents from evacuating?
It was a terrifying thought.
But it was beneficial for me.
It gave the residents of the Fourth Castle a good reason to turn against the rebels.
“You, secure the defensive structures. You, make sure the enemy can’t re-enter through the back gate. And Mr. Schlus…”
“Hm?”
“We have a very important task to attend to.”
“…?”
Pelaine looked at me with a serious expression.
A very important task?
I had no idea what she was talking about.
What could be more important than securing the castle’s defenses?
We were already short on manpower, and we couldn’t afford to lose a key asset like Pelaine.
“Here it is, Commander… Commander-in-Chief.”
“Good work. Hurry up and go.”
“Yes, sir.”
Taylor handed Pelaine something wrapped in cloth and rushed off.
Ah, I think I understand now.
Pelaine gestured for me to follow her, and I nodded silently.
“….”
“….”
We climbed the endless spiral staircase of a quiet tower.
The sound of wind grew louder as we ascended, indicating that we were almost there.
We reached a half-open wooden door.
The moment Pelaine flung it open—
“Whoa!”
“Pelaine!”
…she started to tumble down the steep slope of the tower.
Her center of gravity had already shifted outwards.
I managed to grab her hand just as she was about to fall backwards.
I almost failed to save the future Empire’s Strongest Swordsman…
“Ugh…”
I pulled her back inside with all my might.
She was heavy, with her armor and greatsword.
“Heehee! That was close!”
“…!”
She suddenly lunged at me, wrapping her arms around me in a tight embrace.
I shouldn’t misunderstand.
She had probably lost her balance and instinctively grabbed me.
“It feels like a dream. I never thought we’d be able to recapture the Fourth Castle with this few troops.”
“We haven’t recaptured it yet, Pelaine. Even if we take it, they could easily launch another rebellion and take it back. This is just the beginning.”
“You’re right. Shall we take the first step? I’ll climb up and lower a rope. All you have to do is pull it, Mr. Schlus.”
She released me and turned around, picking up the cloth that had fallen to the ground. She peeked out the door.
It was a dizzying height.
There were no structures taller than this in the vicinity.
The slope of the tower was steep, but it seemed climbable if she was careful.
She rolled up the cloth, held it in her mouth, and started climbing the wall of the tower.
“Wow…”
She was fast.
She was a cat beastman, after all.
She quickly reached the top of the tower, the flagpole, and lowered a rope.
“I’m ready! Pull it!”
“Alright!”
I pulled the rope with all my might, until it wouldn’t budge any further.
I heard the sound of cloth flapping in the wind above me.
I secured the rope to the back wall and peeked out the door.
The flag of the Empire, the symbol of the suppression force…
…a black eagle against a red background, soaring in the sky.
It would be visible from outside the Fourth Castle, and even from the Third Castle, if their eyesight was good enough.
We were making a declaration.
The Fourth Castle had fallen to the suppression force.
The wagons carrying our equipment would have seen the signal as well.
They would be bringing in the armor and weapons now, relieved.
“Ugh… It’s a bit difficult to climb down!”
“Leave it to me.”
“Huh?!”
I didn’t mean for her to jump into my arms…
I braced myself as she crashed into me, like a special forces soldier rappelling through a window.
“Gah!”
It felt like I had been hit by a charging elephant.
I gasped for air, my vision momentarily blacking out, and fell backwards.
When my vision returned, I saw Pelaine sitting on top of me, giggling.
“I’m sorry, Mr. Schlus. I’ve been very disrespectful to my investor.”
“You certainly have. I’ll have to sell all my shares tomorrow.”
“Oh no! I’m so sorry! I was wrong! Please don’t do that!”
“I was just kidding.”
“Ah…”
She was so gullible, as always.
It was fun teasing her.
I caught my breath and sat up.
My chest felt a little constricted.
Was there permanent damage?
Well, Iris could heal it.
“You could have sent someone else if all you wanted to do was raise a flag.”
“No, sir. It’s not just any flag. It’s the flag of the Empire, to be planted in the heart of enemy territory. I couldn’t entrust this task to anyone else. If the flag was damaged… Ugh… I don’t even want to imagine it.”
“….”
Right, that was Pelaine.
She couldn’t stand the thought of not taking responsibility for everything.
She was determined to bear all the responsibility as the Commander of the knight order, whether they succeeded or failed.
She was stubborn, or perhaps foolish.
“So you dragged me into this sacred flag-raising ceremony. Are you planning to share the responsibility if it’s damaged?”
“No, sir. I trusted you. I believed that you would fix my mistakes. You even saved me when I almost fell because I was rushing.”
“….”
It was a joke.
But Pelaine, oblivious, answered seriously.
She trusted me…
Just like I trusted Iris completely, it seemed like Pelaine trusted me.
I had never imagined that I would become someone’s object of absolute trust.
It was a strange feeling.
It made me feel a little shy.
“Let’s hurry. There might be a fierce battle raging inside the castle.”
“You’re right. We should go and support them.”
“…”
What kind of expression was I making?
I didn’t want her to see, so I turned away and started walking down the stairs.
“Mr. Schlus.”
“…”
“You brushed it off last time, but… I have to thank you.”
“….”
I didn’t reply.
Not because I had a reason.
I was simply too out of breath to speak.
And I couldn’t stop to chat in this urgent situation.
Only monsters like Trie and Pelaine could casually talk while running down stairs at full speed.
“All the members of the Holy Knights feel the same way. We wouldn’t have survived without you. We all respect you, Mr. Schlus.”
“….”
They were respecting the wrong person.
All I had done was buy their shares when they were worthless and hold onto them, reinvesting the dividends.
I hadn’t actually invested anything, aside from a small amount of money.
“You’re our hero, Mr. Schlus.”
“….”
“You might want to deny it, but that’s how we feel. Just so you know…”
“….”
Pelaine’s voice trailed off and then stopped.
We didn’t speak for the rest of the descent.
We just kept walking down the endless stairs.
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Gladge
yeah can def see them using this as a “see the so called rebels were willing to let the saintess and countless innocent people get slaughtered purely to advance their cause and rile people up”