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A representative, the one in the fanciest armor, stepped forward with two of his knights. Going by headcount, Arnold could spot about 60 knights, all possessing the auras of veterans, their levels averaging between 55 and 70. This might be the elite group sent to deal with the demihumans in this region.
That said, the Beast Lord was present in the camp—something they didn't account for.
"Hear me, filthy beasts!" the man lifted his helmet's visor, showing his pudgy face that matched his out of shape bottom that even his armor couldn't hide, "You have invaded the territory of Marius Greyth Solave! If you do not leave immediately, we have siege weapons ready to destroy this camp and magic weapons that will shoot on sight. I have been given the fullest authority by his Grace, the Pope, to rid our country of you by any means necessary!"
Spotting Arnold and Selia, the noble went: "Hm? Humans in a camp not in cages or being roasted over a fire!?"
He unsheathed his sword, "Which means you're in leagues with them! To think, adventurers who swore to protect humans against monsters would side with those monsters! They've kidnapped so many of my people, including my servants, and an important guest from the empire!"
'An important guest? System, see if you can spot who he's talking about.'
If it's someone from a noble family, he can use this as an opportunity to get the person's family to repay a debt to him. It's a bad idea to let an opportunity pass you by.
· Scanning for NPCs who originate from the Eulia Empire…
· Seven matches found in the region…
'Huh, that's quite a lot. How many are in this camp?'
-Confirmation: One has been identified… Gathering details… Adavire slan de Verith, sponsored by Duchess Isolde von Berthlaith has been spotted in the cage closest to the throne of bones.
'Adavire?' upon looking around, he spotted a blonde-haired young woman in a cage with a few other women, blood dripping from her chin and her bloodshot eyes glaring at the noble.
"Oi, look at me when I'm talking to you!"
Arnold ignored the idiot noble and looked at Razor, "It looks like you're keeping an acquaintance of mine as your personal pet, Razor."
"…Huh? Gyaaack!?" confusion couldn't set in yet as Razor's arm was cut off by Arnold's Aether Blade.
"P-Peerless W-Warrior….! But why!?" blood spurting like a waterfall, Razor cried out.
"An arm for an arm. One of your little playthings happen to be my subordinate's ward. I don't intend on letting something like that go unpunished. I would take more than just an arm but I need you to be able to move at least to carry out my request."
"H-How could I have—guh—known!? I-If you—arghhh—had just…!"
"Be silent, Razor."
"Y-Y-Yessss…." The poor lizard yelled for his soldiers to bring gauge and a torch. His race has regenerative abilities so it's not that big a deal for him to lose an arm.
His soldiers looked at the scene in shock. Their Alpha was disciplined like a dog right in front of them. Despite that, they couldn't laugh out of fear as they know exactly how strong Razor is.
"Marius, was it?" Arnold turned back to the noble who was glaring at him for ignoring him earlier but his expression was now deathly pale. He didn't know what to think at seeing the one he accused of being in cahoots with the Beast Lord, suddenly attack him. And to be able to harm a supposed Beast Lord this easily… there's no way this is an ordinary adventurer.
"I don't want anything to do with your battle so allow me to leave."
"H-Humph, I shall allow it! I-I must've stumbled upon a quest in progress but fear not as we will handle this!" though he tried to sound magnanimous, his voice cracked a bit.
'Selia, we'll be taking every captive in the village with us. Open the cages with me.' He spoke to her using the game's message feature.
'And I thought you became a little heartless but you were actually such a softie~'
'…'
Knowing Adavire, she will pester Arnold about it later since she's just like Guinevere in a way. Yes, she would do that even to her savior. And if he refuses, she will probably come back on her own.
Adavire looked up when she saw Arnold approach the cage. Her dead eyes quickly began to gain life when she realized he was coming towards her. Then tears began to flow.
"Agurol…." She said something while blood dripped out of her mouth like thick paste.
'Her tongue has been cut out…'
He ripped off the steel cage's door containing four human girls and an elf. Judging by the feces in the corner and smell of piss, they had been in here for a few days at least, waiting to be used by the Beast Lord. Adavire appears to have come here recently if you look at the way her hair had been groomed.
Tears flowed down when they realized they were about to be rescued after enduring this life for this long without a means of escape.
Holding out his hand, he asked, "Can you all stand?"
They cursed at him before as he had shown no kindness or willingness to save them but now those feelings washed away seeing his handsome face…
**
Adavire was peacefully sleeping in the carriage they used to get here. Only adrenaline and fear were keeping her awake but exhaustion set in once she felt safe. Since her lower body was a bit too exposed, Arnold had to put his coat over her.
Meanwhile, some of the others were holding onto Arnold as if afraid he would abandon them. He didn't particularly mind so he just let them have that.
"W-What is your relationship with that beast, if I may ask…?" Marius approached him and asked while the girls were putting on some clothes they found in the houses. There were a few without a leg or no feet at all so they'll have to use the carriage the trio came here with.
"That's none of your business."
"Kgh…" his face turned bitter.
"By the way, you said one of the people they kidnapped is an important guest. How did she land up in this camp? Isn't it your duty as lord to make sure she's safe?"
Marius gulped, thinking that if he gave the wrong answer, his head would be sent flying. Seeing Arnold approaching them, all the knights placed a hand on their weapons.
"S-She pleaded w-with me to allow her to… speak with these beasts…"
"For what reason?"
"…To persuade them to stop this war."
That's typical of Adavire. While this naïve sense of justice of hers doesn't get her killed due to her luck and later affiliation with Luke, he knows it will change her from today onwards.
While her sense of justice is very annoying to someone like him who would kill without batting an eye, it would be great to have her as an ally.
Then again, something may be different this time—
And… there's no way Luke will get the pure Transcendent Paladin in this timeline to join his Hero Party.
Why?
When he checked her condition with the system, he saw a very worrying word—no, several of them:
· Corruption, Malice, Vengefulness, Sense of Duty
Are these the things you should see under the Condition of a supposed pure innocent soul that even the lore refers to as an Angel in human form?
'What the hell does [Sense of Duty] mean exactly? Is she still hoping to search for the good in these savages?'
"Speak for them?" He almost wanted to laugh, "Look at her, both feet cut off and her tongue ripped out so that she can't scream or run. Shouldn't you, as an adult and noble with the duty to protect your own, have foreseen this so you should've discouraged her from the very beginning?"
"T-That is…"
"You knew she would be a great distraction since these beasts like to toy with their sex pets and food. They even pass their toys around so they forget all about defenses when it's time to taste a human woman."
He's not even concerned about Adavire, who was a guest at his castle. This confirms one thing—he used her as bait. If the emperor were to hear one of his empire's most gifted youth was used in this manner, he won't stay silent.
"You'll keep your head today, Marius. But expect some consequences at letting this happen to her."
The noble gulped as his legs trembled, his earlier bravado nowhere to be found. Seems like he was hoping she'd die.
But with just her two feet missing and no tongue, she should be able to make a recovery.
"—M-My Lord!" someone called out from the gate, running with all his might, "The Demihumans are destroying our trebuchet and Magic Cannon!"
"Hm!? I thought all of them scattered!?" Marius grabbed the young man who delivered the news, "What is the captain doing allowing that to happen!? I thought I gave you permission to fire!"
"B-But, they're crowding around us and t-those weapons were designed with a fortress or entire armies in mind to deal the most damage… E-Even when we shot at them, they continued attacking and scattering… They know reloading the siege weapons takes a long time…"
"Bunch of savage suicidal beasts…" Marius spat on the ground, "You will live another day, filthy beasts. Think of this as us meeting you alongside Lady Adavire to lure you out of hiding to plan for our next attack. Don't feel embarrassed that you are so easy to fool. You are mere beasts, after all... Hahaha!"
Seems like his siege weapons were his advantage but since demihumans are so bloodthirsty, they wouldn't let something like that stop them. Marius' mistake was thinking of this like a fight between two human nations.
"We're departing! Form a defensive line so that we can take Lady Adavire back to the fortress!" Marius ordered, then he bowed to Arnold, "Had you not been in our presence, this meeting would have turned bloody. Thank you, Great Warrior."
He waved a dismissive hand, "We'll follow you from behind so get moving."
Marius nodded then got on his horse, "Depart!"
Before following them, Arnold looked at the bowed Razor, "Remember our agreement, Razor."
"Y-Yes… Thank you for… your mercy, Peerless Warrior—"
**
After arriving at the fortress, the girls were assigned to the servant quarters where doctors were waiting to handle their injuries but with most of them mutilated, they wouldn't be able to go back to having regular lives unless they have the means to cough up copious amount of gold to go to a temple.
But maybe she wanted to use this chance to improve her reputation among the humans later but Selia took out many high-tier potions you can't even find on the market or anywhere in the world. Since she seemed like a kind older sister, the girls were overjoyed when they realized the potions were real, flooding Selia with compliments, gratitude and a whole lot of "big sister~" chirps.
When asked her name, she said with a wink "Secret for now~ But you should thank my mentor as he made this possible"
She even made sure to spread the news that Arnold is some kind of magnanimous lord who isn't just strong but has many rare and legendary items at his disposal that no one else in the world has.
In any case, Adavire was brought to her previously assigned room and a doctor was able to assess that she didn't have any life-threatening injuries but, in the event they did something to her, he put contraception medicine on the table before leaving and saying he'll come back when she's woken up.
When Arnold came inside with Selia, he spotted Elna and the other students in the room with her.
"I-Is that Arnold? What's he doing here?"
"Damn, I didn't think he would save Adavire of all people since they're rivals."
"You really think she's still on his level after what happened?"
"Eh, good point…"
The six watched him cautiously as he approached.
"It's been a while, Elna. Did Olivia fire you?" he gave a mocking remark.
Letting go of Adavire's hand, Elna looked up at him clearly annoyed, "I was assigned a separate duty by His Majesty. My subordinates are protecting Her Highness while I am away."
"Why are kids in the middle of a battlefield? Is it related to that duty you mentioned?" despite being younger than some of them, he asked as if it wasn't already obvious.
"…yes. We had no clue things had escalated this badly before we got here. It was simply supposed to be recon disguised as a program related to the academies. The emperor himself ordered it and entrusted this duty to me."
'Senior Liam, looking at their status windows, they seem to be geniuses from all around the country.'
'Yeah. Who would find it suspicious that a high-ranking knight like Elna would want to train them and show them a real battlefield? Every war has had their fair share of knight programs. And every nation welcomes them with open arms as they are the future leaders of the next generation.'
'And all of them had casualties to some degree from overzealous children who think they have what it takes.'
'Adavire isn't like that. She's not an idiot but… she's inexperienced. The kind of protagonist who thinks every enemy has a tragic backstory waiting to be unlocked if you just say the right line.' That may be what that 'sense of duty' was referring to.
'Hehe, of course you would know about stuff like that. I almost forgot that Senior is a massive otaku. So gross Kidding~'
'…'
"You couldn't simply run away from the fortress?" he ignored Selia's teasing and continued speaking.
"The fortress wasn't surrounded by that point like it has been recently… Most of the battles that took place were miles away from the fortress but nomad tribes gathered together and saw opportunity in the fortress."
"It's no wonder the fortress has no heavy weaponry on the walls—they weren't expecting such an attack." He glanced at the slumbering Adavire, "Don't tell me you used her to cause a distraction."
Elna shook her head, "On the contrary, I tried to stop her as I was foolish enough to believe even the demihumans would follow simple war rules. Even during war, two war lords can still meet up and talk peacefully as neither side would want to spill too much blood. Not doing so is throwing your humanity away and any chance at peace."
"You've lived a sheltered life, Elna."
"…." She looked bitter at hearing that but didn't deny it. Maybe it was just embarrassing to hear that from someone a decade younger than you?
"My companion and I are about to leave so I was wondering if you need help with security—"
"That is kind of you to offer but the empire should have received my distress message and will send reinforcements within the next few days. Since the demihumans haven't made any attempts in the past few hours, it's safe to say they are retreating, which gives the soldiers time to fortify the castle fortress even more. We should be safe until then."
"Alright." He won't push the matter since he was only doing it out of consideration for Adavire. Said person was still unconscious and in a coma so she can't be moved around too much.
"I'll take my leave then."
The two were about to leave but Elna spoke up.
"—The skill that destroyed that mountain—it was you, wasn't it?"
He glanced over his shoulder.
"Yeah."
"…I see… Do you have no aspirations to join the imperial army?"
"I'm not becoming the empire's convenient tool."
"Her Highness told me before that you are the kind of man who doesn't like being ruled over but chooses to rule himself. With all the rumors going around, your citizens are quite lucky to have you watch over them."
He simply shrugged at the praise before leaving the room.
**
After the students left, Adavire slowly opened her eyes and groaned slightly, "…Elna?"
As she was in the middle of dozing off in the chair, Elna hurriedly opened her eyes, "Young Lady, are you hungry? Thirsty? Do you have any discomfort—"
"W-Where is… Arnold? Eh? My tongue…?"
"That was the easiest injury to heal as the doctor is quite skilled but your foot will have to wait until we can get in touch with Madam Berthlaith. Arnold… He just left the fortress." Hearing that, she looked dejected, "I'm sorry… For not stopping you even by force… I am a terrible knight and don't deserve what little honor I have left…"
"…Haha…" as if she didn't even hear Elna's grimacing words, Adavire simply chuckled dryly as her empty eyes stared at the ceiling, "I had such a terrible nightmare… I saw my fate. Living as the toy of an Alpha. Treated like a Queen by his soldiers but kept confined to whatever outpost they set up, like a prisoner…"
There was a brief silence between the two.
"Am I… an idiot?"
"…"
"If I weren't so privileged, I would've had to live with the scars of my own stupidity." Tears welled up in her eyes, "Am I a loser for being afraid to face the world again despite bravely walking straight into danger?"
"…Will you return to the academy?" consoling her isn't the right thing to do.
"…" She inhaled and exhaled deeply before giving a reply, as if mulling it over, "Yes… Lady Isolde and everyone else invested so much in my future and I vowed to repay them through my accomplishments… but even if I were the type of person to run from the world after such a thing happened to me, I still need to say something to Arnold."
"I understand. Please allow me to escort you as your knight until you are fully healed."
Adavire was about to say something but then thought to herself that maybe this is Elna's way of getting over her guilt.
What would Adavire's method be of getting over her guilt and shame…?
Will she know that answer once she speaks to Arnold…?
They're strangers to each other, yet her heart yearned to see him again—to hear what he thought of her and to plead to him for advice.
It felt absurd.
But it was necessary for her to move on.