Chapter 100: Your Belief (3) ── Sizzle! Crackle!
The dark interior of the house was suddenly bathed in light. In place of the soot-covered candles, a mana stone hanging from the ceiling emitted a brilliant white glow.
"There, it's done."
It was a lamp made from a mana stone. The structure was simple: a well-carved stone shelf with a high-purity mana stone placed carefully upon it.
I always carry spare mana stones. Thanks to the intuition granted by the Virus, I can perform little tricks like this.
"It should last you a long time."
Mana stones aren't omnipotent on their own, but if you carve an improvised circuit inside and supply mana with optimal efficiency, they function as well as any finely crafted machine.
"As long as the lamp doesn't break, it should last at least ten years."
The head of the household widened his eyes. For the record, the front door I had broken down had already been replaced by the soldiers.
"Thank you."
── Whoosh!
The sound of fires being stoked drifted in from outside. The soldiers were currently in the middle of their meal.
"...."
I sat at the table. The family still seemed to fear me, and the man clutched the check tightly in his arms, refusing to let go. I found the sight rather endearing.
"Any bank will cash that for you. Do not worry."
I picked up a steaming cup of black tea. It was a crude mug, but the aroma of the tea was deep.
"The meal was delicious. The meat was cooked perfectly."
Even for my palate, accustomed to dishes prepared by top chefs with the finest ingredients, the local flavors felt refreshing. I was reminded once again that the world of gastronomy is truly endless.
"...Th-thank you."
The wife bowed her head shyly.
The head of the household asked cautiously, "But... how did a noble like yourself learn the Zerpa language?"
To them, the sight of an Imperial—especially a nobleman—speaking a foreign tongue fluently must be quite rare.
Over the last century or two, Imperial nobles have frequently appeared as villains in the novels and plays of various nations. Whenever there's a mastermind or a villain, it's always one of those noble types.
While Izenheim's machinations played a part, the corruption of noble society was certainly a significant reason as well.
"Hmm..."
I set down my teacup and looked at the Zerpa man.
Before my regression, one of the biggest reasons the Empire's war failed was their contempt for the locals. Because they engaged in constant looting, public sentiment was at its worst, and resistance movements flared up like wildfire in the various occupied western nations.
"Learning languages happens to be a hobby of mine."
While one must be cruel when fear is necessary, there is no need to 'buy' enemies unnecessarily.
That is my philosophy.
"They say it resembles the song of a bird."
I replied softly.
"The Zerpa language has a uniquely beautiful melody."
Even as I said it, I felt a bit petty. My linguistic ability was purely thanks to the Virus.
Because of the Virus, my memory became as accurate as a photograph. Because my memory improved, I became good at things I had never bothered with before. Because I was good at them, they became fun. And because they were fun, I naturally mastered them more thoroughly.
It was a continuous cycle of positive reinforcement.
"The accent is almost like singing, so I enjoyed every moment of learning it."
A faint smile spread across the faces of the husband and wife.
Language comes from the mouth. Perhaps almost everything a human says is an expression of their native tongue.
Pride in the language that waters one's roots is something that resonates with everyone, regardless of borders.
"...Furthermore."
I took note of the staff decorating the frame above the fireplace. It was a shepherd's crook, its end polished smooth from use.
"I have heard that the shepherds of Zerpa are those who follow the King's Path."
"Ah... yes. Th-that's right."
The man scratched the back of his head sheepishly.
"We have been shepherds for generations... Even the royal family comes on a tour once every few years. In these parts, we're considered a family with quite a lineage..."
He stopped abruptly. Realizing his slip, he glanced at me nervously.
I waved my hand.
"Any household that possesses a family motto, protects its trade, and passes it down through generations is a noble House in its own right. You should take pride in that."
"Haha..."
The man laughed bashfully, but his shoulders straightened a little. I watched them for a moment before speaking quietly.
"I will give you one piece of advice."
Clink. I set the teacup down.
"Just as I learned your language, you should learn the Imperial language."
A local who can speak the Imperial tongue will, at the very least, avoid a meaningless death. In fact, they will likely be treated with respect.
"It will likely prove very useful in the near future."
I gestured toward the children peeking at me from behind.
The man nodded silently.
"Yes, yes. Now that we have mo-money, I was thinking of sending the children to school..."
"I'm glad to hear that."
I stood up with a smile.
"I hope it lasts a long time. Your traditions, I mean."
This was a sincere wish.
From child to child. And to their children's children.
I hoped this world could continue.
I hoped the line of such a small family would not be severed, and that they would not meet destruction...
* * *
The Bertun Unit slaughtered a cow.
A thick soup made by simmering fresh meat and bones was distributed, and the remaining meat was salted and preserved as rations for future operations.
It was a rest that came after a grueling march.
"...No, but seriously, this makes no sense."
Lois let out a hollow laugh. He sliced his steak with his personal cutlery—a silver knife he'd hidden in his shirt to avoid detection during the rucksack inspection—and dipped it in sauce, a special blend he'd also smuggled in.
"How? I mean, how?"
"What are you talking about?"
Sitting next to him, Dare Tan raised an eyebrow while slicing his own steak.
"It makes no sense. His foreign language skills are too good. What is he?"
Lois couldn't wrap his head around it.
Was Maximilian's erudition... no, his linguistic ability just a matter of refinement?
Either way, it was unexpected.
"Honestly, I don't think his grades at Empire Point were that great."
Lois tilted his head and muttered. Dare Tan nodded.
"That's true."
"We were shocked when we saw his transcript back then. It was so average."
"Yeah. But he looked pretty cool today, didn't he? Speaking all that foreign gibberish. What was it? Shala shong make depasifrom?"
Dare Tan mimicked the Zerpa language he had overheard.
"Maybe I should learn a foreign language too."
Maximilian's foreign language had been very fluent. At least, that's how it felt.
"What the hell for? The Imperial language is the continental lingua franca. Just be good at Imperial."
Lois grumbled as he chewed thoroughly on a piece of meat.
"──Knights."
Just then, Leon appeared. As always, he had a beaming smile on his face.
"Come to the barracks once you're done eating. Meeting in ten minutes."
"Yes, sir. Understood."
"Yep!"
Both of them jumped up and saluted. Leon waved and entered the barracks.
As soon as they sat back down, Hannah returned with her arms full of ingredients.
"I got some cabbage from nearby. You guys want some?"
"...."
"...."
Lois and Dare Tan looked disgusted. Hannah's nose scrunched up.
"Fine, suit yourselves."
Hannah chopped the cabbage and tossed it into the pot. The crunchy texture was added to the thick meat soup. It certainly looked much more appetizing.
Is it because she's from the countryside? She seems to know how to eat.
Lois and Dare Tan slunk forward and held out their soup bowls. Hannah muttered as she served them.
"But you know, Sir Leon seems really kind."
"...."
"...."
That statement was truly absurd. Lois and Dare Tan looked at each other with expressions of disbelief.
"What? Again? Why?"
Hannah's brow furrowed.
"Don't you know?"
Leon von Adolf Askar.
He looks gentle. He looks kind. His actions and voice are indeed soft.
However, his family, the Askars, is notorious.
They are a den of the most famous bigots in the Empire. A family that doesn't even consider sub-species to be human and is extremely fastidious about social status within the Empire.
Hannah, being a commoner, couldn't seem to imagine what darkness might be hidden behind Leon's smile, but Lois and Dare Tan, being high-ranking nobles themselves, could feel it instinctively.
To be precise, it 'gave them the creeps.'
"...Never mind. Just eat."
Lois didn't bother explaining.
"Honestly, jealousy is just a daily routine for you guys. Sigh."
They could only let out a hollow laugh at Hannah's nonsense.
Lois was eating the cabbage and meat in the soup when he suddenly felt a surge of irritation.
"Hey. Honestly, I'm more handsome, okay? Objectively, I'm the best-looking one here. Why would I be jealous—"
....
The knights gathered in the commander's barracks.
In the center, Lieutenant Colonel Han had spread out a map, with Maximilian and Leon standing on either side of him.
"Our current position is here."
Lt. Col. Han placed a blue flag on a hilly area not far from the canyon exit on the map.
"General Richter is likely here."
He placed a red flag much further up, on a bypass route in the mountains.
"He has likely realized that he has lost his tactical advantage."
Loss of tactical advantage. Lois rolled the phrase around in his mouth.
That sounds pretty sophisticated. I should use that when I get back to the Empire.
"The Royalists are currently under siege by the Republicans inside the capital. However, if we march to their rescue prematurely, we could end up being surrounded ourselves."
Lt. Col. Han drew a line across the middle of the map with his baton.
"Not only is our main force not large enough to crush them, but General Richter will undoubtedly turn back and strike us from the rear."
He then glanced at the five knights.
"Therefore, from this point on, the knights will carry out operations independently."
He pointed to the enemy's encirclement blocking the path between the capital and the main force.
"First, break through the enemy's encirclement, enter the capital, and make contact with the Royalist command. Inform them of our arrival and coordinate the timing for a joint operation. In other words, be our 'messengers.'"
Collecting mana waves while under siege is basic protocol.
In a situation where there is a high risk of communications being intercepted or jammed, there is no messenger more reliable than a knight.
"Second, strike the enemy's supply lines and other facilities to induce chaos."
Using the asymmetric power of knights to conduct rear-area disruption operations, moving much faster and more stealthily than a typical scout unit.
"We must prevent the enemy from focusing on our main force and buy time so that the Empire's follow-up reinforcements can enter smoothly."
The Bertun Unit wasn't the only Imperial force deployed in this civil war. In fact, they were just a small mobile unit.
A total force of 20,000 was marching toward the plains of Zerpa, and reinforcements would also enter through the canyon we had cleared.
However, none of them were likely to be 'sincere.'
Even before my regression, they were the type who would test new tactics and weapons, massacre innocent civilians, and then head home.
"Our main force will establish a defensive line here and prepare to crush the encirclement later."
* * *
Late at night. A ridge where even the moonlight was hidden by dark clouds.
"The communication range of this device is 20 kilometers. In high-altitude areas, it can be extended up to 1.5 times, and if you manually inject mana to force-amplify the output, you can send a signal up to 2.5 times that distance."
Before setting out, I explained the equipment precisely to the knights.
Everyone nodded as they plugged the communicators into their ears.
"In case of danger, you must communicate. Knights are the Empire's most vital assets."
To be honest, though I hated to admit it, losing one of these rookies would be more painful for the Empire than losing the entire Bertun Unit.
"The target points are four bridges and one tunnel."
The Zerpa Kingdom has an unusually high number of hills and rivers; cutting just one bridge forces a supply unit to detour for dozens of kilometers. We were exploiting that geographical characteristic.
"Each of you will take responsibility for one bridge. After destroying it, move to the capital where the Royalists are holding out. If the path to the capital is blocked and you absolutely cannot make it, return to the main force where Bertun is stationed."
I warned them, pointing to the red dots on the map.
"Also, do not get obsessed with the destruction of the facilities themselves. The important thing is to make the enemy aware that 'there is a guerrilla unit' present."
When the rear is attacked, the enemy becomes agitated. They will communicate among themselves and tighten security, and units with tightened security will stay rooted in place rather than moving.
For Lt. Col. Han, that would be enough.
"What about the tunnel?"
Leon asked. It was the deepest point and, at the same time, the most heavily guarded.
"I'll handle it."
The person in charge takes the most difficult part.
It was only natural.
Before my regression, I had abandoned such responsibilities out of fear, so only now was I finally doing what I should have done all along.
"Understood."
Everyone nodded, their faces covered with black masks.
I looked at the youngest, Dare Tan.
"Nineteen. You?"
"Understood, sir!"
Dare Tan replied, straightening his back.
"Max. Anyone would think you're thirty."
Leon cracked a joke from the side. I furrowed my brow.
Leon quickly looked away and scratched his cheek.
"Sorry."
I'm already over thirty.
"Move out."
At my signal, we scattered into the mountains.
From here on, it was every man for himself.
Whish──!
I sprinted across the high ground. The night wind brushed against my cheeks. My legs, shrouded in mana, moved silently and steeply.
There is no noise in the movements of an Ebenholtz.
Though I was treading on a surface covered with grass and fallen leaves, not a single sound escaped.
It was an effect of the Ebenholtz mana 'attribute,' making it optimal for stealth and concealment.
"...."
As I sped along, suddenly,
The flash of a searchlight flickered in the darkness far away.
It was the target point, the tunnel.
I stopped at a position within visual range.
A control post had been set up at the tunnel entrance. Heavy machine gun nests were established on both sides, and armed soldiers stood guard behind mana-plate barriers.
── Thump.
The moment I stared at them, my heart pounded wildly.
A familiar pulse.
A loathsome energy.
Among them, there was an Izenheim.
"...Haa."
Exhaling a deep breath, I drew my longsword. The cold blade shimmered with a silver light.
I quietly lowered my stance. I concentrated mana into my toes.
I tread upon the ground, yet I do not.
I kill the sound and erase my presence.
Quietly, becoming a part of the darkness...
── Tick.
Time slowed down.
My soul accelerated.
──!
I shot forward at a speed even the wind couldn't follow.
Before the searchlight could even catch my afterimage—I was already flying over the guard post.
Sssshhh....
The bandages wrapped around the longsword scattered, and countless silver trajectories erupted.
Like petals falling in the night sky. Dozens of slashes spread out.
── Squelch.
The head of the gunner holding the machine gun fell, and the chest of a patrolling soldier was sliced open. The watchtower collapsed silently, and the head of a young man whose eyes widened as he looked at me soared high into the sky.
Though these men were not Izenheim... it couldn't be helped.
In the moment blood erupted like a fountain, my feet finally touched the ground.
Tap.
I leaped again the instant I landed.
Izenheim.
I pierced the heart of the one wearing the commander's cap.
── Tick.
The acceleration ended.
Kwassssssh──!
A soft wind exploded along with the mana behind me, echoing through the tunnel.
"K-keu-heuk..."
The Izenheim let out a rattling groan before his breath stopped.
I made sure to slice his neck once more, just to be certain.
Afterward, I took a deep breath and gathered my mana.
── Thump.
However, my heart did not stop pounding.
There was still one more.
── Thump!
This time, it might be a fairly strong one.
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