Chapter 91

After defeating Algul, I returned to the main battlefield, and it seemed that the situation here had also concluded.

“…Honestly, it’s not a pleasant sight.”

It wasn’t a grand war with hundreds of thousands of soldiers fighting like in the history of the Central Plains, but over a thousand lives filled a vast clearing.

The wind blowing across the battlefield after the fight was filled with the smell of blood, iron, and corpses.

Enduring the unpleasant odor that pierced sharply due to my heightened senses, I soon reached the tent where everyone was gathered.

It seemed that high-ranking individuals like Priegoss and the High Elves were convening to handle the aftermath of the war.

From what I could see from outside, the number of prisoners being captured was more than double that of the participants on Pohelrn’s side, so processing them would be complicated unless they planned to execute all the prisoners on the spot.

Even if they returned to Pohelrn, it would take three to four weeks of walking to get there.

Considering that the soldiers from Pohelrn were already in the state of defeated troops even before my arrival, and the burden of fatigue that had piled up, most humans, unlike the elves or succubi, would need to plan properly for their return.

As I entered the tent, Palas was the first to notice my presence and approached me.

“Have you finished?”

“Basically.”

“Your wording is ambiguous.”

“I let them escape from my hands, after all.”

At that, Palas frowned slightly.

“‘Let them escape’?”

“I considered chasing them down to the end, but Gal followed me. It shouldn’t be much of a problem.”

Upon hearing that Gal had shown up, Palas reflexively flinched.

“…That lizard?”

“Well, I thought he might follow me just in case. It turns out I wasn’t wrong.”

I shrugged and smiled.

I hadn’t realized it during the fight with Algul, but at the moment I crossed the large staircase, I felt Gal’s presence with my expanded senses.

He must have been following out of overprotectiveness.

“This could be a bit of a hassle going forward.”

“…I don’t like that guy.”

“I feel the same.”

As I frowned slightly, I stood on my tiptoes and gently pushed Palas’s frown away with my index finger.

Seeing Palas’s brow relax, I smiled brightly.

“I understand, but try not to clash too much. Gal isn’t one to create unnecessary provocations, right?”

“…Are you okay?”

“Well… I’ve gotten somewhat used to it by now.”

Scratching his cheek awkwardly, Palas’s brow furrowed again.

I waved my hand and laughed.

“There wasn’t anything to worry about as much as you think.”

Palas ignored my finger on his brow and looked at me seriously before sighing.

“I understand. But.”

Palas scanned the energy around me as he spoke.

“…What happened?”

“Do you really want to know?”

Retracting my tiptoed stance and placing my hands on my waist, I puffed my chest up and said confidently.

“I crossed the wall. Remember when I explained the theoretical stage of the martial arts? I reached that stage.”

I had stated it lightly, but in the thousands of years of recorded human history in the Central Plains, there had been fewer than a hundred individuals who had reached such a transcendent state.

Moreover, it was not just theoretical knowledge; for Palas, who had entered the next stage, the distance to the next step was likely much deeper than for ordinary humans.

Palas smirked somewhat bitterly.

“It always seems that when you’re about to catch up, you take another step ahead.”

…Did I boast too much?

Realizing it, I tried to adjust my expression, but Palas placed a hand on my head and gently ruffled my hair.

I froze for a moment at the sudden action, and Palas smiled faintly as he left a word and turned to go.

“…Don’t wander too far. It’s hard to follow.”

As I stared blankly at Palas’s somewhat lonely back as he exited the tent, I heard a cough from beside me.

Looking over, I saw Priegoss standing there in a slightly awkward posture, looking at me.

“…It’s been a while. I’m sorry for being away for so long.”

“I’m glad you are safe. And thank you for coming to help.”

I noticed the bandages wrapped around Priegoss’s shoulder.

It seemed the treatment had just been done, as dark red blood was still seeping through.

“I tried not to get involved with human matters, but this was a somewhat special situation, so I lent a hand. It’s not like I treated you with special privilege.”

“Still, I should express my gratitude for being saved.”

Priegoss smiled softly.

It was a smile full of meaning.

“Has the western human faction roughly united after this incident?”

Priegoss shook his head quietly.

“It is true that we won this battle, and the southern territory we originally aimed to conquer has become unclaimed land, but our side has suffered greatly as well, so moving south afterward will likely take a while. Moreover, other powerful leaders in the south, having heard of our initial defeat, will likely judge that it is possible for them to challenge us again. Resistance will probably be fierce.”

“Indeed, it seems the number of soldiers has significantly decreased.”

“…Effectively, nearly a third of our forces have perished. Although we captured many of Mutuk’s soldiers as prisoners…”

“These aren’t just neighboring villages or cities; they are humans living beyond the desert. Their culture is different, and it will take a long time to assimilate them. It will also take time to train them back to their previous level.”

“Exactly. It might take another ten years.”

I looked at Priegoss, who was calculating the time for the next opportunity.

As a human king and the second disciple among humans, a decade must feel like a mere fragment of a long span of time for him. Still, for Priegoss, who lived a mere lifetime, ten years would feel different.

Noticing my gaze, Priegoss took a moment to organize his thoughts before smiling gently.

“Please don’t look at me like that, Master. Until just before the fight, I was prepared to give up my life. If you hadn’t come, the bodies outside would have been not those of Mutuk’s soldiers, but of mine and my soldiers. It’s lucky enough to be alive; I can’t ask for anything more. More importantly, even if ten years pass from now, I will still have enough vitality left. It will be enough time to embark on an expedition.”

Despite having experienced a significant setback and having his plans greatly postponed, there was no trace of confusion in his eyes.

‘…He has raised his disciple well.’

Priegoss was like a sturdy tree with a strong root.

It wouldn’t be easily shaken by a mere gust of wind.

A sense of pride swelled in my chest.

As we continued our warm conversation, Priegoss suddenly asked as if he had just remembered.

“By the way, what exactly happened? I heard you were attacked by a being resembling Elder Roa.”

“Well, I was indeed attacked. To be honest, it put me in a bit of a difficult spot.”

“…Did you encounter a significant issue?”

“Eh? No, it wasn’t to the extent of worrying. Look, I’m fine, aren’t I?”

I spread my luxurious golden attire and twirled around.

Seeing me unscathed seemed to put Priegoss at ease, and he relaxed his expression.

Hmm. It doesn’t feel bad to have my disciple worry about me.

“But when I spoke with Palas earlier, was that ‘Gal’ perhaps?”

“Ah. The being that attacked me resembling Elder Roa. Yes, it’s the Gal Dragon.”

“…What on earth happened?”

“Well, it’s a long story, or it could be considered short… Basically, things went well, and I think we’ve become friends. You know how boys sometimes bond through fighting.”

“…Typically, boys don’t fight to the point of altering their cognition, though.”

“Hm? Did you happen to see traces of it?”

“I understood why you told no one to send anyone, but there’s no way I could just sit still after you went missing. I couldn’t dig too deeply, but I put in some effort on my side to find some traces.”

“Hm.”

I scratched my cheek somewhat bashfully.

“Well, anyhow, what I mean is that part has worked out well. However… there is a bit of an issue.”

“An issue?”

“That’s not something I can summarize quickly. I came rushing in to save you, so I didn’t explain it properly, but it’s something I need to discuss with Alia as well.”

“…That makes me a little uneasy.”

“Hm. It doesn’t seem like anything is imminent, but the northern situation feels rather suspicious. Some preparation seems to be necessary. But…”

As I conversed with Priegoss, I occasionally felt the gazes of two pairs of eyes.

And the owners of those two pairs of eyes were staring at each other, engaged in a peculiar standoff.

“…Why are Alia and Anya doing that? From what I’ve seen, it seems like this was the case even before I arrived.”

“…I’m not sure either.”

Glancing at Priegoss with a rapidly awkward expression and then looking at the two who were smiling at each other while hiding their hostility, my curiosity grew as I noticed Saras watching them with an interesting expression.

◈ ◈ ◈

“Still can’t find him?”

Bucker, Priegoss’s last aide, looked at the paladin asking him with a troubled expression.

After the battle, during the inspection of the surviving personnel, one individual among the paladins was reported missing.

A child who had recently become a paladin during the last martial arts festival.

Despite the elves and Alia leading the rescue forces to secure an advantage in the battle, it was a battleground filled with blades and blood.

It wouldn’t be surprising if a hot-blooded child who had just learned martial arts ended up as a corpse somewhere.

Generally, any personnel not seen on the battlefield are assumed to be dead, and only the number of returning personnel is counted.

This implies that they wouldn’t go to the extent of sifting through corpses entangled with the enemy.

It’s only natural to think that a rookie who hadn’t returned long after the fight was dead and lying in some corner of that clearing.

“The child must be found.”

The problem was that the presumed deceased rookie was a human holding the position of a paladin, a disciple of the goddess Araya, who was regarded as a goddess in Pohelrn.

Given that Araya is already an object of worship, recently saving the lives of high elves and elves, if he was truly dead, they would need to confirm and retrieve the body.

Bucker couldn’t ignore the insistence from the other paladins to confirm even a corpse in that event.

Thanks to this, immediately after the battle, while Bucker and several soldiers felt the fatigue creeping up to them, they were scouring the battlefield among the corpses.

However, they couldn’t find the body of the child in paladin attire anywhere.

Because of this, while it was a chore, Bucker initially thought it wouldn’t take long, yet he was simultaneously feeling both fatigue and difficulty.

As time passed.

Just as the sun began to set and the sky turned crimson.

“Who goes there!”

A silhouette was approaching the barracks, crossing the battlefield.

The figure was holding a large head.

For a moment, Bucker thought it was a routed soldier or an ally who had fled during the fight, perhaps bringing the enemy’s head back for merit.

“Iskariot!”

The paladin who was with Bucker during the search shouted.

“Are you alright? What on earth happened that you are only now returning?”

As the paladin rushed to Iskariot, the child paladin lifted the large head.

“This.”

“…? It’s the head of an Orcus.”

“It was Algul.”

“Algul!?”

Bucker and the paladins who approached were stunned at the sight of the severed head of Orcus.

However, Algul’s face was always hidden in shadow, so no one knew.

“…I don’t know what happened, but let’s just take it back for now. If it truly is Algul, that’s a significant achievement!”

Looking at the paladins congratulating Iskariot for the achievement, Bucker met the gaze of the child paladin.

‘…What kind of eyes are those…?’

Bucker was startled for a moment as he saw shadows swirling in the dark eyes of the young paladin.

But upon looking again, the young paladin’s eyes seemed average, merely dark due to their natural coloration.

‘Did I see it wrong…?’

Despite feeling a sense of unease from the child paladin, Bucker dismissed it as merely a misunderstanding and erased it from his mind while watching the other paladins leading Iskariot back to the barracks.

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