Chapter 16

Chapter 16

Great Escape (4)

#16

Hearing Spera’s words, the bandits were astonished.

Even if they had learned nothing, they knew the majesty of the Imperial Knight Order.

“I-Imperial Knight Order?!”

“What the hell are you saying? Don’t knights ride horses?”

The empire, an undeniable superpower.

The group that symbolizes the overwhelming military power of that empire.

Moreover, those who appeared in the sky above Blackstone Fortress were not ordinary knights.

“N-no···.”

“What?”

The long and sleek airship is also called the White Sword Unit because it resembles a sword.

The emperor’s fastest sword that moves only in wartime situations, or situations equivalent to them.

“I’ve heard··· there are knights who appear from the sky.”

7th Airborne Mobile Unit.

They were descending toward Blackstone Fortress.

“C-Captain··· what should we do?”

“Hehe, uhehe··· ua···.”

“Captain Spera! Please give some kind of order!”

Spera could not say anything.

Her mouth was smiling but tears were flowing endlessly.

Just as the subordinates who judged it was no longer possible were about to evacuate her first.

Rumble!

Along with a roar that shook heaven and earth, the light ray surging from the pillar began to spread widely.

“Fuck! What?!”

The bandits screamed.

It seemed a translucent umbrella was unfolding.

A hemisphere made of white light instantly covered Blackstone Fortress.

Crackle!

One bandit who accidentally touched the hemisphere was bounced out with an explosion.

“Huuuk!”

“H-hey! What is this···!”

Silence descended.

The corpse had turned into charcoal where even the facial features could not be recognized.

One bandit who had been carefully looking at the hemisphere gasped.

“L-lightning?”

The substance forming the hemisphere was not simple light.

White current was wavering along the surface.

It seemed like this is what it would look like if a thundercloud containing lightning was spread thinly.

Belatedly grasping the situation, the bandits froze.

“Damn. Are we trapped now?”

Unless the space was twisted there was no way to leave the fortress.

Just as the rapidly spreading confusion was turning into fear.

Boom!

Shadows that jumped from the airship landed while tearing the lightning hemisphere.

“Kyaaaak!”

“Huff.”

White current followed behind the shadows like a comet’s tail.

The hemisphere was immediately restored.

When the thick dust settled, the appearance of a man and woman wearing platinum uniforms was revealed.

“······What. Only two?”

“They’re old. They don’t look particularly strong.”

The bandits murmured.

There was quite a sense of disparity from the imperial knights they had imagined.

The man was a thin and tall middle-aged man.

Sharp eyes like a bird of prey, sunken cheeks gave a cold impression.

“What. That one looks younger than our niece.”

“C-cute? Maybe we can fight···?”

The woman was even more of a spectacle.

First she looked extremely young.

At most late teens?

No emotion could be read from the settled eyes.

“Glory to His Majesty the Emperor. I am Colonel Heinz Bardo of the 7th Airborne Mobile Unit.”

Suddenly the middle-aged man opened his mouth.

A calm voice without high or low.

Glancing at Harmeno, he turned to the bandit group.

“There is much to ask regarding the young Harmeno. Are you people related to the relevant facility?”

Contrary to expectations it was not a threatening tone.

Not kind either, a feeling like a strict civil servant.

The bandits began to gauge each other’s eyes in confusion.

Could they pass without any particular incident unexpectedly?

“Uhi··· r-run···.”

The desperate one was only Spera.

She wanted to shout much louder, but because of the injuries her voice did not come out properly.

Suddenly, the girl who had been looking around approached Bardo.

“······.”

And she muttered something in a voice so small it could not be heard.

Bardo raised an eyebrow.

“What. Were they bandits?”

“······.”

“Hmm, I thought so. It didn’t seem like natural growth···.”

Somehow the atmosphere was becoming strange.

Every time the girl’s lips moved Bardo’s eyes were gradually narrowing.

Finally raising his head, Bardo looked at the bandits.

“This, I almost wasted precious time on sinners who disrupt the empire’s order.”

“Wh-what···?”

“Unnecessary. Leave only one and clean up the rest.”

The girl nodded.

Slowly walking, she stood facing the bandits.

“······.”

“Wh-what? What are you trying to do?”

The bandits leaked bewilderment.

Calmly looking around their faces, the girl raised her right arm forward.

The small white palm was spread wide.

The moment the bandits burst into hollow laughter at the incomprehensible action.

“Why are you suddenly holding out your hand? Are you suggesting a high five?”

“Surely you’re not thinking of facing us alone···”

The girl clenched her fist.

Puhwaaaak!

The heads of thirty bandits exploded at the same time.

“······.”

It seemed thirty roses were fully blooming.

Death without precursor is not followed by screams or last words.

The girl who finished the mission slowly lowered her hand.

Thirty headless corpses collapsed all at once.

“Au, hiiii··· huk, huk···.”

Spera sobbed.

She was the only survivor.

The blood of her subordinates was flowing down over her face.

The girl who walked over squatted in front of Spera.

“S-surrender···! Uhi, I’ll surrender unconditionally···.”

“······.”

“Please just my life, just spare my life··· uhehe! L-laughing is not my will···!”

Spera shook her head.

The girl who blinked her eyes without a word returned to Bardo.

“Thinking of leaving only that woman.”

“······.”

“The boss of this bandit group? That worked out well.”

It seemed the girl had spoken about Spera’s identity.

Raising his collar, Bardo brought his mouth to a small transmitter.

“1st Platoon. Descend.”

At the same time dozens of shadows jumped from the airship.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

The knights of the 7th Airborne Mobile Unit landed while tearing the hemisphere.

Bardo gave instructions again.

“Secure Harmeno and occupy the facility. I will prune the branches.”

“We will obey!”

The knights scattered.

The appearance of moving without a single overlapping route was reminiscent of well-trained hunting dogs.

Only Bardo, the knight girl, and Spera remained in the place again.

Turning his body toward Harmeno, Bardo muttered.

“To endure the net. Even if young a dragon is a dragon.”

Net.

He called the lightning hemisphere that covered the fortress that.

Magic manifested from the Anchor of Justice, the pillar that announces the appearance of the 7th Airborne Mobile Unit.

In reality Harmeno was being scorched by current powerful enough to turn a person into coal, but only the bark was a little charred and it was continuing growth intact.

Lightly offering a silent bow, Bardo pulled the sword hilt.

“I execute the imperial order.”

The blade that had disappeared for a moment appeared in the air.

White current was crackling on the straightly extended blade.

No one except Bardo saw the process of the sword being swung.

Suddenly, a shining line was drawn on Harmeno’s trunk.

“What···!”

Spera’s eyes widened.

The upper part of the line was tilting as if sliding.

Rumble-!!!

Harmeno collapsed onto the fortress.

The thunder that followed the slash rang out along with a heavy collision sound.

“···Ah.”

Spera fainted while rolling her eyes.

The growth of the running wild Harmeno stopped.

Embers were rising on the blackly charred cut surface.

“Hmm.”

Bardo sheathed the sword.

Not a shred of tiredness could be found.

The current that had been flowing along the blade subsided like a lie.

Just as he who finished the mission was about to turn, the knight girl stood in front of him.

“······?”

“Yes, I also know. Someone intentionally liberated Harmeno.”

Bardo nodded.

This appearance of Harmeno was not natural.

The relevant individual had risen to the ground surface due to someone’s help.

“Probably a person who infiltrated to collapse this bandit group. Judging by the scale they would have bought grudges in various places so it’s not particularly strange.”

“······.”

“No. We do not pursue. Our mission is to secure Harmeno and guard the site, we must not intervene beyond that. If it is determined to be an existence that could threaten the empire the higher-ups will take measures on their own.”

Bardo turned his head.

A sharp gaze turned toward the forest on the opposite side of the fortress.

“Separately from that it is an enviable guts though. To dare use the Three Dragon Trees as a means of destruction and escape, to the point I want to make them my subordinate.”

“······!”

“If fate connects we will meet again. Anyway all roads lead to the empire.”

The corner of his mouth that had been carefully staring at one point rose very slightly.

“Isn’t that so. Nameless warrior.”

****

“Ah fuck, startled me!”

Bran hurriedly lowered the telescope.

It was brief but it seemed he had met eyes with Bardo.

Thud!

The flustered Bran fell from the tree.

“Kuek!”

The sound of bone breaking was heard from somewhere.

Kale who had been keeping watch like a meerkat ran over in fright.

“B-Bran! Are you okay?!”

“No!”

It was too bad a state to pretend to be okay.

Partly because the tree was high, but more because the injuries received in the fight with Spera had not fully recovered.

Blood was gushing again from the wounds that had been healing.

『Warning! Stamina is very low!』

『Physical abilities decrease due to strong impact!』

The system was also making a fuss.

There is super recovery but this was really not it.

Bran continued speaking while lying down.

“Kale. Open my sack a bit.”

“U-uung!”

“Give me the bottle with light green liquid··· quickly···.”

Kale brought the sack while flustering.

It was the sack containing items collected when looting Spera’s vault.

“Light green··· light green··· ah, found it!”

Soon Kale who found the item Bran mentioned put the bottle in his mouth.

Gulp. Gulp.

While the Adam’s apple was busily moving.

『The recovery components of Honey Cluster Flower permeate the body.』

『Recovery power increases. The growth speed of recovery power increases.』

『Heart of Harmeno activates. Beneficial effects from plants are amplified by double!』

Along with the system message energy filled the body greatly.

It tasted quite good. He felt the open wounds healing again.

By the time he emptied the bottle all the blood flowing from the body had stopped.

“Phew. I feel like I can live now.”

“Fortunately··· as expected it seems you overdid it too much.”

“I know too. Still I wanted to confirm with my own eyes.”

Bran wiped the corner of his mouth with his sleeve.

Right after winning against Spera he had evacuated to as far a place as possible.

Because of the event that occurs right after saving Harmeno.

40 minutes after the tree is exposed to the surface the 7th Airborne Mobile Unit appears.

To secure the Three Dragon Tree Harmeno.

Knights each far stronger than Spera sweep away all the remnants of Blackstone Fortress.

“As expected running away was the right choice.”

The problem was that the standard of “remnants” was ambiguous.

If he luckily encountered Bardo first it didn’t matter.

If the conversation went well not only preserving life, but the possibility of becoming a low-ranking seed of the Imperial Knight Order by being recognized for the merit of saving the Three Dragon Tree also opens.

“Ugh. Army.”

The problem was that he had not the slightest intention of enlisting in the imperial army.

There were merits of its own, but there was no reason to hurriedly enter while abandoning freedom.

There was still a lot of work to do outside.

‘This is right. Variables should be reduced as much as possible.’

Moreover that was only the lucky case.

In most cases they were treated as bandits and killed.

Bardo gives a cleanup order right after descending, and the knights who obey the order do not distinguish between bandits and slaves.

That was why Bran instructed the slaves to just run away.

Unlike the fixed appearance time of the mobile unit, it was not a variable that could be 100% controlled.

“True to the name. To think they would notice from this distance.”

Recalling the moment of eye contact, Bran shuddered.

His heart was pounding.

If he did not have the conviction that Bardo would not chase him he would have just peed himself.

“That uncle was a really good character too.”

The memory of controlling him beyond the monitor was still vivid.

Heinz Bardo, the White Lightning Knight who engraves lightning on enemies.

The captain of the empire’s 7th Airborne Mobile Unit, and one of the playable characters of Return Road.

‘Fortunately he’s safe. The Nameless Hero is a person from even further in the past than expected.’

Seeing him doing well he was glad.

Seeing that he was still alive it seemed it was the time before he met a terrible death.

It was extremely good news for Bran.

Because it meant not only saving Bardo, but also the room to draw him to his side had arisen.

Confirming that alone was worth climbing the oak tree.

Bran said.

“Huu··· anyway thanks for the trouble Kale. Now we’re free.”

“Uung? I-I didn’t do anything···.”

“What do you mean didn’t do anything. If it wasn’t for you I would have died.”

The shit of the Dementia Serpent.

At best he would have been reduced to the sex slave of Spera or Delgato.

As expected humans are animals that must live while helping each other.

Stretching his legs, Bran clasped his hands behind his head.

“So you rest a bit too now. You have to enjoy the first day as a free person.”

“I-I’m fine. Ahaha··· free, it feels somehow awkward.”

“Want to get hit?”

“Hiiik.”

Kale quickly lay down.

Hesitating while gauging the atmosphere, he fully stretched his legs only after hearing Bran’s hiss.

Even if summer the morning air is cool.

Through the sparsely grown tree gaps the sky was wide open.

Belatedly looking at the sky, Kale’s eyes widened round.

“Wow.”

The sky at dawn came into view.

The radiance of morning was clearing the darkness.

The morning star was shining in the dusky blue.

Thinking about it he had no memory of seeing the sky at this time while staying in Blackstone Fortress.

What was seen as soon as he opened his eyes was the dirty barn ceiling, and the workplace was also indoors.

The only free time he could see the sky was given only after the sun had already set.

“Good work.”

“No, Bran worked harder.”

“I know too.”

A short silence.

“Um, Bran.”

“Why?”

“We’re not dreaming, right? We came out, right?”

“Yes. No.”

“Won’t Spera try to take revenge?”

“Does the Imperial Knight Order look like the neighborhood troublemaker? Even if Spera’s grandfather comes they can’t come out. For reference false confessions don’t work on them either.”

“I seeee···.”

Kale dragged out the end of his words.

Just as the two lying side by side were appreciating the sky.

“Haha··· ugh.”

Suddenly Kale covered his face with his palm.

The small shoulders began to shake.

“Uuk··· uuuk.”

Hiding it was meaningless.

Tears were streaming down the white cheeks.

“I-I··· thought I would work there for life and die···.”

“I said I’d get you out.”

“···Thank you. Sincerely··· ugh, sincerely thank you···.”

Bran said nothing.

How shitty it must have been so far.

No system messages that inform growth, no knowledge of this world.

Enduring while eating from the same pot as people who treat one as an object was by no means an easy thing.

However since he himself had no talent for consolation, he only quietly stroked Kale’s head.

“Tahuk!”

For some reason the shaking of the shoulders grew larger.

As expected I have no talent for consolation.

『You annihilated the Crow Bandit Group.』

『You defeated Blackstone Fortress’s boss, Black Feather Spera.』

『Amazing achievement! You overcame harsh hardship and accomplished a great feat. Weed’s Tenacity activates!』

『The growth speed of all stats increases!』

Suddenly a message rose.

Like when he defeated the Serpent of Dementia the text was shining golden.

Of course it was good news, but right now he was not in the mood to do a ceremony.

Bran patted Kale’s head and smiled.

“The weather is good. Right?”

“Yes. Uung.”

Kale nodded while covering his face.

‘If you cover your eyes you can’t see the sky you idiot.’ Would saying that not be okay?

In fact the hardship starts from now, but at least right now he wanted to enjoy this scenery.

The grass leaves spread at the head. The dew wetting the back.

The morning as a free person was brightening.

****

The two lay side by side for a long time.

By the time Kale’s crying stopped it had already become a complete morning.

“Yes. Done crying?”

“Yes··· sniff, sorry···.”

Kale nodded.

His eyes were so swollen he could barely open them.

Fragmented sunlight was falling through the gaps of trees and leaves.

“What’s there to be sorry for all sorts of things. If you want to cry you should cry.”

“Th-thank you. Bran is really a good person after all.”

“A good person. I’m curious if you’ll still think that after hearing the following words.”

“Uung···?”

“Kale. We are going to save the world.”

It was a calm voice as if informing the breakfast menu.