Chapter 83 - In the Shadow of Celebration
The seasons had changed. Soon, it would be time for my second brother’s wedding ceremony. The city where the main estate of the knightly house stood had erupted into a festive uproar, as if a grand festival were underway. A knightly family member marrying into a high countess’ family—it was a marriage unheard of. People said as much. And of course, it was the same in the royal capital. News delivered from there described how that marriage had been met with great astonishment. It was said that even His Excellency the Chancellor and that scheming fellow from the Royal Guard Staff had carefully patched up every potential gap in the arrangement, filled every ditch, and had even secured words of formal blessing from the former mistress of the high countess—the grand ducal lady herself.
Blessings overflowed in the town and the capital alike. It was a joyous thing. But more than anything, what brought the most happiness was the truth that my second brother cherished and adored the high countess. In all the lands around our homeland, there was no one as breathtakingly beautiful as she. Merely being near her must have filled brother with happiness. And now, he was in a position where such happiness was permitted. Soon, he would make his vow—to dedicate his life to protecting his beloved wife.
It was, without doubt, a blessed thing.
And joy seemed to follow joy. My eldest brother and sister-in-law had been blessed with twin boys—adorable baby boys. Father and Mother had been completely and utterly smitten. Never before had I seen Father’s stern brows so thoroughly softened.
Indeed, the twin nephews were impossibly cute. So dear, one could not help but want to protect them at all costs. They would smile blissfully, reaching out their tiny hands toward me—hands that one day would grasp the light of the future. They deserved to be treasured. Father, perhaps feeling his age, had suddenly resumed his training. Had he sensed his own waning strength?
Thanks to the cooperation of My Friend’s personal physician, both mother and children had been in good health, and the twins were growing quickly and well. Mother had handpicked the wet nurse herself, ensuring they were in excellent care.
And so, both the head of the household—Father and Mother—and the heir—Eldest Brother and his wife—were scheduled to attend Second Brother’s wedding to the high countess. That meant, for a time, there would be no one from the knightly house at the main estate. The one left in charge during their absence was me. Father had given me orders to act as the knightly family's interim head and oversee all matters within the house.
Well, I supposed I had reached the age where such responsibility was no longer surprising.
Though my strength might still be limited, I intended to help in any way I could. The knightly house had capable relatives, and the head butler and head housekeeper knew the household well. When decisions needed to be made, I would serve as an assistant—someone who could present clear and concrete options when the time came.
――― And so, I had little worry about the running of the knightly household.
At that time, I had found myself somewhat removed from the bustle of all this happiness. The reason was that I had received troubling information from a hunter who had entered the Shallow Forest. We had begun laying down magic communication lines not just to the forest's edge but into the Shallow regions as well, connecting each watch post (TL/N: Previously translated as hut) and forming a network. From these posts, hunters were now able to immediately report any movements of magical beasts and monsters within the forest.
Among the reports, one particular detail had caught my attention.
With my adjutant in tow, I had stationed myself before the large map of the forest mounted in my office. Colored pins were stuck across it, each hue indicating a different type of information. White pins marked locations where unusual remnants had been found. In those areas, the hunters had also reported something strange—despite being places one would expect to find wild beasts or magic beasts, none had been seen at all.
“How do you see it, Deputy?”
“Hmm... It’s possible that some sort of singularity has occurred.”
“A mutation in appearance, perhaps?”
“That remains to be confirmed. It depends on what exactly the hunter meant by this so-called ‘unusual remnant.’”
“There are times when they deliberately choose such vague phrasing. Perhaps the threat level is too uncertain to define. I’ve sent the Fourth Squad to investigate the area where the remnant was found. Just in case it proves retrievable, I had engineers accompany them.”
“A wise decision. The commander of Fourth Squad… yes, that one. That one carries out their duties with remarkable finesse. We can expect a report the moment they find anything.”
“Good. I also had them carry a roll of magic communication wire and a portable transmitter. If all goes well, we should receive a direct report in the comms room.”
“Understood.”
With arms crossed, I stared intently at the large map before me. Whatever this thing was... I could only hope it wouldn’t develop into a situation that required us to request joint action from the high countess’s House, our feudal superior. Especially now, when both our town and the countess’s domain were lost in celebration. And soon, the knightly house would be little more than an empty shell.
As I stood before the map with my adjutant, My Friend suddenly appeared without warning. As always, his transformed form remained female, and though he was clad in the formal robes of a Royal Court Mage from the Palace Magitech Academy, he exuded the presence of a fairy-tale witch. I still hadn’t quite gotten used to his appearance. She strode up beside us and, without a word, began studying the map as we did.
“...To think you managed to lay down this much magic communication wire. Even though the number of users is limited, I was honestly surprised to see the long-distance communication system I once dreamed of fully realized. The ‘comms room (TL/N: Previously translated as communication room.),’ was it? That too is a splendid piece of work. Relying on human hands instead of trying to do everything with magitech tools brings a much cleaner structure. It’s such a simple concept. Ah, I picked this up from the comms room. They said it was urgent.”
“Hey, that’s the communicator’s job, you know.”
“It’s fine. They couldn’t leave their station. ‘If it’s you,’ they said, and entrusted it to me. Here, take it.”
My Friend handed me the message. I skimmed it quickly. The moment the characters on the paper entered my eyes and registered in my mind, my brows furrowed. The situation was worse than anticipated. The content went far beyond our expectations. Without a word, I handed the message to my adjutant. He, too, after scanning it, developed a deep crease between his brows, already anticipating the difficulty ahead.
“...They suspect it to be a variant of the Bit Viper? An intact eight-yald-long shed skin, you say? The normal type of this magical beast rarely exceeds two yalds. But this one—eight. And after shedding, it would only grow larger. It could easily reach ten yalds. We’re looking at a highly dangerous magical beast variant. The report says its presence has been confirmed in a cave that appears to be its lair. Scattered around were the remains of small magical beasts, along with its feces. So it fed before shedding to maintain its strength... That explains the lack of wild creatures and magical beasts in the area.”
“I want to bring it down before this turns into something bigger.”
“That won’t be easy. Even with considerable force, it would become a prolonged engagement. Long-bodied beasts are extremely difficult to snipe with guns. And if it’s holed up in its lair, even spotters will have no line of sight.”
“I know. But we can’t leave it alone. Back when I wasn’t even ten years old yet, a similar serpent-type magical beast went on a rampage. The delay in response forced us into a near-total war effort. Many soldiers became the foundation of our homeland that day. This one is even larger than that. If possible, I’d like to have at least a plan in place before my brother’s wedding. Whether we mobilize our main force or request joint action... we’ll need time. I propose launching a full-scale recon-strike using the guerilla unit. What do you think?”
“...Recklessness must be avoided.”
“Reckless, huh... Still, we have to do it.”
We lowered our voices as we continued to discuss potential countermeasures. Just then, My Friend, who had been silently contemplating something in front of the map, opened his mouth. What he said was... something that sounded obvious, yet came from a perspective we, who constantly dealt with monsters and magical beast attacks, didn’t—and perhaps couldn’t—hold.
It was a piece of advice that could only come from someone like My Friend, who remained untouched by the common sense of the frontier.
Comments
Post a Comment