Chapter 46 - The Man Who Earned the Grand Duke’s Recognition

Crow remained prostrate. Galahad stood quietly in front of Crow, smoking a cigarette.

Rather than speak first, Crow waited in silence. At last, seemingly finished with his thoughts, Galahad spoke.

"Can you contact Dawn?"

"Dawn contacts us unilaterally. We have no way of contacting them first."

"Hmm."

Crow swallowed hard at the man’s low murmur.

"What about the Society’s president?"

"... He probably has connections to Dawn. But the president won’t come forward himself."

"I see. Go to the branch at the Fifth Battalion. Mention my name to Corton there."

"Yes, sir."

Crow nodded, only to be struck by a question.

'How does he know the deputy chief of the Fifth Battalion branch?'

No, judging by the way he spoke, they weren’t merely acquainted. It sounded as though Corton served under him.

He had only just arrived in the North, and already—Crow firmly swallowed the question rising to the tip of the tongue.

"This is my revised version of the demon-beast tamer’s magic circle. It should be more effective than the one you use."

Galahad held something out: a sheet of parchment bearing a meticulously drawn magic circle. There were even annotations and explanations beside it.

'But how did he get the demon-beast tamer’s magic circle...?'

Another question arose, but Crow suppressed it. The less said in this man’s presence, the better.

"Yes, sir."

"Pass that up the chain, and you’ll hear from them. The president must be shitting himself by now, after all. Wouldn’t you agree?"

Crow nodded again.

He was right. The Black Magic Society had invested no small amount in the Seventh Battalion.

No, it had invested a great deal.

With its plans so abruptly thwarted, the Society would undoubtedly be reeling. Not enough to bring it down, but—

"He won’t be able to give up on the Demon Realm."

Crow let out a faint sigh at Galahad’s words.

'So that’s why he left it intact.'

Crow had wondered why Galahad had gone out of his way to preserve the Demon Realm. Now it made sense.

Closing it would probably be harder than opening it, but it was difficult to imagine Galahad being incapable of it. Why, then, hadn’t he closed it?

'It was bait to hook the president.'

Had the Demon Realm closed completely, the president would have gone into hiding. A cautious man, he would have burrowed even deeper.

But although the plan had failed, the Demon Realm remained. That meant the plan was still halfway to success.

Under those circumstances, the president would contact Dawn and somehow—

'He was after Dawn all along.'

Come to think of it, Galahad had mentioned Dawn from the very beginning.

Had even this whole debacle, which had drawn in the Grand Duke and Adrianna, been nothing more than a stepping stone for this man?

Crow bowed even lower.

"Let me know when they contact you. If you’re late or come up short again, I may be truly disappointed."

"Yes, sir."

Crow answered hastily. The man’s voice remained relaxed and carefree, which only made it more frightening.

"You’ve worked hard. It’s about time you moved up in the world."

The remark came out of nowhere. Crow’s mind raced.

'He’s taken over the Fifth Battalion branch, and he’s told me to go there. His target is Dawn—to reach Dawn, he needs the president. But moving up in the world?'

Ah.

Crow let out a quiet sigh.

'He intends to swallow the entire Black Magic Society.'

The Society wasn’t even his real objective. It was merely a means of reaching Dawn.

Galahad intended to install Crow as president and use that position to catch Dawn.

'Just how much does he intend to squeeze out of a single Demon Realm?'

Then Galahad’s words suddenly came back to Crow.

Moving up in the world...

'Then I’ll become the president...?'

Crow bowed even more deeply.

"Thank you!"

This time, it was heartfelt.

"I’ll be off, then. I’m late for a meeting."

His voice was so relaxed that it was hard to believe he had just laid out a plan to take over the Black Magic Society. As though even that were a trivial matter to him.

'I’d better work hard!'

Trembling, Crow made that vow.

* * *

'Why am I sitting among such important people...?'

Heinz, a company commander of the Seventh Battalion, slowly released a heavy breath.

He had just been promoted to fill one of the vacant company commander positions, a personnel change prompted by the previous night’s chaos.

The other company commanders looked every bit as uncomfortable as he did. Little wonder, considering the sheer weight of the names gathered in the meeting room.

Sir Gilberton, Belograim, and even Adrianna...

They were far too distinguished for someone who had been a mere platoon commander until moments ago to sit alongside.

Despite the gathering of such figures, the meeting had yet to begin. Everyone sat quietly, as though waiting for someone.

'Who on earth could it be?'

He murmured to himself, looking at the empty seat at the head of the table.

Just then, the door opened smoothly, and a neatly dressed man entered. He looked more suited to the word "aristocrat" than to the North.

"Ah, everyone’s here."

Speaking lightly, the man walked naturally to the head of the table and sat down.

"... How can the person who called the meeting be the last to arrive?"

Sir Gilberton stood behind him and delivered a quiet rebuke.

'So that’s the commander of the Special Operations Unit.'

Heinz already knew of him through the rumors.

'The man who earned the Grand Duke’s recognition.'

A faint shiver ran through Heinz. The Grand Duke’s recognition was the stuff of legend in the North.

Everyone hailed as a hero in the North had received the Grand Duke’s cup at least once.

Yet none of them had drunk it.

No, none had drunk it and survived.

But this man had drunk from that cup.

He had earned the Grand Duke’s recognition.

That held tremendous significance.

And what was more...

'The man who earned the Grand Duke’s recognition and is marrying Adrianna!'

Heinz’s eyes shone. Here was someone worth making the others wait.

"How much damage has the Seventh Battalion sustained?"

"All but two of the company commanders have been replaced, and eighty percent of the soldiers remain."

Belograim delivered his report without hesitation.

"I see. Do you have enough to maintain security along the front?"

"Yes. However, the inner fortress suffered extensive damage, which will disrupt our supplies."

"Don’t worry about that. I’ve spoken to the Fifth Battalion’s commander. Support will arrive soon."

The man answered as though the Fifth Battalion belonged to him.

Heinz found that odd, but...

'The man who earned the Grand Duke’s recognition!'

He only seemed more magnificent.

"Then you can hold the front?"

"Yes. It will be a little difficult, but we’ll manage. His Highness the Grand Duke saw the situation himself, so reinforcements should arrive soon."

"I see. Then let’s move on to the Demon Realm training camp."

Everyone swallowed at the words "Demon Realm training camp."

It was already the hottest topic in the Seventh Battalion.

Strange ash now occupied the place where the inner fortress should have stood. That hellishly unpleasant place was called a Demon Realm.

A place inhabited by Demons. And he intended to turn it into a training camp.

He truly was cut from a different cloth. The company commanders could not contain their admiration. Their eyes all sparkled.

"The demon-beasts to be placed in the Demon Realm are ready. The safeguards are nearing completion as well."

Under the gaze of the man who had earned the Grand Duke’s recognition, everyone nodded firmly.

"I think it’s truly remarkable that you survived a crisis as grave as the opening of a Demon Realm. It shows just how diligently the Seventh Battalion has trained."

The man who had earned the Grand Duke’s recognition rose and applauded.

Applause from the man who had earned the Grand Duke’s recognition!

Tears welled in Heinz’s eyes.

"I mean it. Unlike the First Battalion on the front line, you’ve never had the opportunity to experience the Demon Realm, yet you handled it so admirably. I was truly impressed."

Recognition from the man who had earned the Grand Duke’s recognition!

Heinz bit down hard on his lip. Otherwise, he felt he might burst into cheers.

"I saw potential in you. That’s why I pushed for the Demon Realm training camp. Because right here, we have warriors who survived against demon-beasts even within a Demon Realm! Come now, applaud, Sir Gilberton."

Gilberton belatedly clapped his hands.

CLAP, CLAP, CLAP.

Then even Adrianna joined in.

As if applause from the man who had earned the Grand Duke’s recognition weren’t enough, they were receiving it from Adrianna, the hero of the North, too.

The overwhelming emotion made it hard to think straight.

Goodness...

'... We’re incredible, aren’t we?'

Heinz finally realized it.

He was incredible.

"I established the Demon Realm training camp because I believe in you. Think about it. Haven’t we done nothing but defend all this time? Against demon-beasts! Against Demons! We have always stood guard without complaint!"

"Yes!" At some point, they had risen to their feet. They answered together in one voice.

"But defense alone cannot end a war. Someday, we must advance beyond the walls. And this Demon Realm training camp will mark the beginning of that reversal. I guarantee it."

The beginning of a reversal! Heinz swallowed at the stirring phrase.

Was someone who had been a platoon commander until yesterday really allowed to hear such grand words? Was he allowed to receive recognition from the man who had earned the Grand Duke’s recognition?

"Even company commanders and battalion commanders from other battalions will come to train under you. The Seventh Battalion will become the center of the North! Not some forgotten corner—the center!"

The center! For the Seventh Battalion, forever treated as an outlying backwater, it was an exhilarating word indeed.

"You are no longer mere soldiers. You are the champions who will end this war."

The man who had earned the Grand Duke’s recognition surveyed the room. As befitted such a man, his voice carried power.

Everyone held their breath, waiting for his next words.

"Now! Champions, are you ready?"

Champions. The word gave them a peculiar, ticklish feeling.

The man who had earned the Grand Duke’s recognition had called them champions.

The company commanders sprang to their feet.

"Yes!!"

"Come, champions! Follow me!"

Once again, Galahad realized that these northerners were even easier to handle than he had thought.

* * *

"... Is it really all right to shove them into the Demon Realm like that?"

Gilberton squinted at the soldiers charging into the Demon Realm with shouts.

Of course, there were no demon-beasts inside, but the Demon Realm was dangerous in its own right. The difficulty of breathing and inability to see even a step ahead inspired an instinctive terror.

Going in with nothing but a sword...

'It’s much like training knights.'

Galahad tapped the ash from his cigarette.

"How does one become a knight in the North?"

"Pardon? You become a knight when you discover your conviction through actual combat."

A truly crude method. Though that was probably why their knights were of higher quality than those of the central region.

"They’ll be fine after we dunk them in and pull them out a few times. They’re all brave men, aren’t they?"

Galahad answered while tapping his cigarette. Not a trace remained of the fervor with which he had been encouraging the soldiers outside the Demon Realm moments earlier.

"Northern men really are easy to handle."

"... Not all of us."

Gilberton responded sharply to Galahad’s murmur.

"Are they not? True, there’s you."

"Indeed."

"Ah, did you know? Sword training is more effective inside the Demon Realm. The high mana concentration affects the body."

"Why are you only telling me that now?!"

Gilberton drew his sword and ran into the Demon Realm.

"Get in there, champions! The future of the North rests on you bastards!"

"Aargh!!"

Desperate shouts and battle cries rang out incessantly.

Galahad didn’t need to lift a finger. He had merely set the stage, and they had begun training all on their own.

'Could there be a better training environment?'

The Demon Realm’s mana concentration was so high that other places could scarcely compare. Repeatedly putting them in and pulling them out was bound to have an effect.

Of course, it would be quite painful, but the right answer always lay along the difficult path.

'Come to think of it, that’s the method he used.'

Galahad frowned as a certain man came to mind.

There had been an odd fellow who pestered him whenever they met. He had originally been a knight, but one day, upon seeing Galahad, he abruptly declared that he would learn magic.

And he actually had.

He fell short of Galahad, but he was more useful than other Mages.

This was what the man had kept prattling about: training in a high mana concentration had made him stronger faster.

It was a crude method, but judging by him, it certainly seemed effective.

But...

'What was his name again?'

It wasn’t particularly important, so Galahad tapped the ash from his cigarette.

* * *

At the Intelligence Bureau’s safe house in the Grand Duke’s castle, Handsome briskly dusted off his hands.

He had finally finished putting the new safe house in order.

'The replacement personnel should be arriving soon...'

Following Galahad’s advice, Handsome had reported that Rose had been killed by Demons.

It was partly to save his own skin, but also because that would preserve Rose’s honor. He had never met her, but she had maintained the safe house here in the North, at the very edge of the Empire.

He wanted to preserve the honor of a woman who had died in such cold loneliness.

Just then, the safe house door shook violently.

Handsome rose, gripping his sword hilt. Through the device beside the door, he checked outside. There stood a large, smarmy-looking man and a cold-faced woman.

Before long, the door opened.

The fact that it had opened meant they had been sent by the Intelligence Bureau. Still, after what he had been through, Handsome did not release his sword.

The smarmy-looking man entered first. His yellow eyebrows looked just like caterpillars.

"Oh, you must be Handsome."

"Identify yourself."

Handsome’s sword was already pointed at the man’s throat. The man glanced down. At that instant—

TING!

Handsome’s sword was knocked violently aside. Water rippled in the man’s hand. It was magic. No—

"I’m First. Your new safe house personnel."

'... Aura?'

Handsome doubted his own eyes. It had clearly been magic, yet he had seen aura.

Only then did he realize who the man was.

"First, the Mage-Knight!"

Handsome’s eyes widened to bursting. First was a famous agent in the Intelligence Bureau, not someone who would be assigned to a safe house here in the North.

"Mm-hmm. That’s right. I’m that very Mage-Knight."

"Enough pointless chatter, First."

The cold-faced woman behind him spoke sharply. The man chuckled and stepped inside.

Handsome moved discreetly out of the way.

The man settled into a chair as though he belonged there. It let out a small squeal beneath his bulk. He put a thick cigarette between his lips, then conjured a flame on his finger and lit it. The smell of waterlogged wood spread through the room.

'He’s oddly like Galahad.'

Handsome thought of Galahad. There was something similar about the way the two men behaved.

With Galahad, it came naturally. By contrast, this man seemed somewhat affected.

'Is he imitating Galahad?'

As the man exhaled a long stream of smoke, the woman frowned and pinched her nose.

"Bring me everything you have on Galahad."

The man spoke, looking at Handsome. Handsome bit his lip.

Galahad had never told him to conceal information about him. Still, Galahad was his benefactor. Handing over information about his benefactor...

"Bring it. Didn’t you hear me?"

The man frowned at Handsome. Tension mounted. Handsome tapped his sword hilt.

Then—

"Your shoulders are stiff."

Lightning flashed past.

No, it was a sword wreathed in lightning.

"Hmm. He’s certainly been making a splash. That’s Galahad for you."

First nodded as he read the report in his hand.

"Shall I dispose of him?"

The woman asked with her sword at Handsome’s throat.

"Rather than praising a loyal knight, you want to dispose of him? Pumpkin, this is why you’re still unmarried."

"Shall I dispose of him?"

"I’m joking."

First lowered his gaze to the report in his hand.

"It says so here, too."

"Says what?"

"That Galahad is marrying the Grand Duke’s daughter."

First waved the report.

"There’ll be an uproar if they learn about that, won’t there? Both the Imperial Princess and her..."

"They’ll think as I do. It’s either a mission or one of his occasional eccentric stunts. And that will be the truth."

First tapped the ash from his cigarette and frowned.

Below that was an account of Galahad’s activities. First knew Galahad better than anyone. Reading it, he could discern the man’s intentions.

Galahad was...

"Oh dear."

Pumpkin frowned at First’s murmur. That was what he did before he started pulling his bullshit.

At any other time, First was a genuinely decent superior and a decent person.

But whenever Galahad was involved, it was as though someone had punched a hole through his head.

Just like now.

"... What is it?"

"Galahad! He intends to marry the Grand Duke’s daughter!"

Unlike before, his voice was serious. Here came the bullshit. Pumpkin sighed quietly.

"You may fool everyone else, but you can’t fool me, Galahad! You’ve been hiding in the North, preparing your decisive move!"

"Fuck. There really is a hole in your head."

Apparently, he thought he would lose if Galahad married first. It was bizarre logic, but whenever Galahad was involved, he pulled this shit.

"At this rate, I’ll lose! This is an emergency!"

First shuddered. Then he looked at Pumpkin and let out a quiet sigh.

That fervent gaze...

Pumpkin dreaded whatever bullshit was coming next.

A brief silence fell.

"Pumpkin...you’re unmarried, aren’t you?"

"For fuck’s sake! Seriously?!"

As First dropped to one knee as though proposing, Pumpkin could no longer hold back her curses.