Ch.211Buried Things (1)

“Is your country a land of thieves?”

“No.”

“Then is it a land of villains?”

“Not that either.”

“Then why are you trying so hard to make each other blush? I’m a wandering knight and don’t know much, so would you care to enlighten me?”

“Grr…”

The division commander with a major general’s insignia clenched his mouth shut and couldn’t say a word.

In truth, what fault was his? A mere division commander couldn’t have thought he had the authority to strip command from another country’s nobleman, especially from the private army of a knight who had received the White Leaf Knight Medal from the Coastal Realm.

So this order must have come from higher up—at minimum from the general staff or central government.

“Why are you silent? Should I consider this all to be your unilateral decision, Division Commander?”

But the person before me was, nevertheless, a division commander, and he found himself in the position of having to take all manner of abuse as the government’s representative and underling.

His situation might be pitiful, but a decision still needed to be made.

“This is a direct order from General Headquarters… not something a mere division commander can defy. Please understand.”

“If you wanted understanding, you should have sought agreement beforehand. Do you realize how exhausting this pointless power struggle you’ve started is!”

“…”

In truth, he must feel unbearably wronged.

He couldn’t take any initiative himself, yet he was receiving all the blame.

“Did you think transferring military command was such a trivial matter? This General Headquarters isn’t much to speak of. If the private soldiers I brought were just any rabble, you would have forced me to do all the support work while you claimed all the achievements. Isn’t that right?”

“…That’s correct.”

Indeed, there could be no other reason for such an absurd order.

Naturally, they had deployed an entire armored division to this site, so from the military’s perspective, this was their calculated plan.

‘We don’t want to spend our money, but we want the credit!’ → ‘Then let’s hire some mercenaries, make their commander handle the support, while we take command and claim the glory!’… That’s roughly how it went.

Whether it’s Parcival, Zirconia, or Becarium, I don’t understand how all military men think exactly the same way.

Even when different countries cooperate in battle, command authority is rarely relinquished, yet the military thought too lightly of this.

They intended to hire disposable meat shields to use and discard as they pleased, but the Adventurers’ Guild didn’t bother to understand (nor did they care to understand) the military’s intentions and simply sent my army—a full-strength brigade with an incredibly robust organization—just as specified in the request.

If the commander were a commoner or of humble birth, they might have been able to intimidate them, but what could they do about me? I was a knight. That is, a nobleman.

And to make matters worse! I had received the White Leaf Knight Medal for saving a country in the Coastal Realm? And what else? The Order of Sanctuary Knights had granted me permission to carry holy relics, having received the sun’s grace and protection?

This was truly an inescapable checkmate among checkmates.

By now, Becarium’s General Headquarters must be having a mental breakdown upon hearing the report.

They were gleefully celebrating the discovery of a ruin when suddenly they’re being hit from both the Coastal Realm and the Order of Sanctuary Knights, and at the ruins, a brigade and a division look set for all-out war.

Moreover, this is a ruin of the Nariakirian Empire.

The deity that empire served is the same one I serve, and that deity cherishes me so much that when I transmuted dual swords into a greatsword, not only did they not rebuke me, but they even named the sword!

“Very well. Do you absolutely need to take command?”

“…No, sir.”

“Good. You’ve thought wisely.”

*

After settling matters with the division commander (written as “negotiation,” read as “intimidation”), I returned to the Sky Warden.

“They say when a serf becomes a lord, the whip becomes the guillotine. That saying proves true.”

“Hmph. What a petty power trip. I am a Knight of the Sun.”

After saying that, I ordered via communication to let in the guests who had been waiting.

They were a civilian excavation team who had hesitantly approached me requesting an audience after I had exercised my authority to remove the colonel.

However, I first needed to negotiate with the major general, and before that, I was in an ambiguous position where I couldn’t give any definitive answers. So even if we had a meeting, I couldn’t produce the conclusion they wanted. After a brief conversation, we agreed to talk again once I reached a conclusion with the division commander.

And now, with nothing standing in the way, I could finally reach a satisfactory agreement with them.

Knock knock.

“Enter.”

Creeeeak…

Cautiously… no, slowly, the door opened.

The Sky Warden is a battleship. The door is designed to withstand even an Aura user’s sword strikes to some extent, so ordinary people would struggle to open it.

Soon, an elderly scholar who was rubbing his sore hands, and a young—no, a very young man who appeared to be his assistant, entered. He bowed respectfully to me and introduced himself.

“It is an honor to meet such a wise knight. I am Kiria Race. This is my assistant, Drake Gem.”

“Sit down. I’ve settled matters with the major general, so now we can talk comfortably.”

She nodded and took a seat, and only then did the young boy gently sit beside her.

She took out a crisply folded map from her bosom and showed it to me. It wasn’t an ordinary map but one marking the interior of the ruins.

“Hmm. A well-made map. Clear enough to understand at a glance. You must have experience drawing sketches.”

“My father worked in civil engineering. Thanks to that, I have some skill in drawing such blueprints.”

I examined the sketch carefully.

The map had several disconnected or ambiguously represented areas, all of which were invariably marked with diagonal lines.

Probably to indicate hazardous areas.

“Are there dangers within the ruins?”

“That’s why we need an escort. The interior of the ruins is vast. Fortunately, our excavation team risked their lives to find the power room, so electricity has been restored to some areas. But there are still many zones shrouded in darkness where we don’t know what awaits us.”

“Hmm… Even 10,000 might not be enough.”

“The ruins aren’t quite that large. The general shape and area have already been outlined by deep-scanning radar.”

“I see. Still, one can’t be careless with ruins. Wouldn’t you agree?”

“Your words are most wise.”

When recruiting Simon, Raisha and I had once tackled ruins of the ancient empire.

Even fighting alongside other adventurer parties, it was by no means easy, and considering that those ruins weren’t even military in nature, we can’t predict how many casualties regular soldiers might suffer.

Of course, we’ve trained them thoroughly and equipped them robustly, but the combat power of the ancients is beyond imagination.

If it weren’t, everything humanity achieved during the Age of the Solar Eclipse wouldn’t have been completely swept away.

Kiria and I engaged in an in-depth conversation, while Drake was noting down our discussion like a scribe.

As a result, we were able to reach a mutually satisfactory agreement.

“Good. So you will have the authority to restrain or control the soldiers’ actions regarding the facilities or artifacts in the ruins, and we will have the authority to give orders to the excavation team in emergencies. Is this acceptable?”

“It couldn’t be better, Lord Victor. It’s been a very long time since I met a nobleman who understands reason.”

“Well, I’m of humble birth too. An orphan from the streets with no parents. Having clawed my way up here, how could I not understand the circumstances of those who were once like me?”

“Hohoho. This old woman seems to be blessed in her twilight years.”

“Come now, don’t say such things. They say when you talk like that, misfortune follows.”

I stopped Kiria from casually raising death flags and sent them out.

From tomorrow, the full-scale investigation will begin, so we too must make our preparations.

“But we’re going in too, right?”

“Of course. Even with long-distance communication, transmitting from outside to inside ancient ruins isn’t easy. I’ll get much better reception if I go in myself. Besides, we’re adventurers. Adventurers should rightfully embrace danger.”

“Hehe. I’m glad to hear we won’t be rotting away out here.”

I nodded.

The reason a wandering knight is not a sworn knight is because they constantly roam in search of adventure.

And I set out on adventures to see this vast world with my own eyes.

And that vast world is waiting for me with its mouth agape, and these ruins are like a vessel containing the sun’s memories.

In other words, those ruins are a place I can go to, and must go to.

And I have no intention of defying that purpose.

To the tomb of an ancient era, built under the reign of the sun and submerged in the darkness of the eclipse, I set out once more on an adventure.