Ch.220The Road to Peledias (5)

“I can see the Relief Knight Order branch!”

“Good. We’ll land there.”

While the communications room was in contact with the branch’s control center, I tidied my attire once more.

This landing wasn’t for gathering information or accepting a mission, but to return the fallen to their homeland. It was only proper to show respect to the deceased in every detail, no matter how small.

Thanks to this, I could see elven and dwarven brothers and sisters without flushed faces for the first time in a long while, and Simon had neatly combed his beard, giving off the air of a sage who had just descended from the mountains.

Raisha had also dressed properly, displaying the dignity befitting a knight’s wife, and I too had put away my casual clothes and donned ceremonial attire to show respect for the fallen.

Officers and non-commissioned officers had also changed into their ceremonial uniforms, and soldiers without such attire had white cloth bands wrapped around both arms.

Having gone to these lengths, at least the souls of the dead would no longer linger on this airship.

We conducted an intensive search until arrival to ensure no fallen warrior was overlooked, but fortunately, there were no missing casualties.

[Control center approval complete. Landing at landing zone 13.]

-Confirmation complete. All personnel stand by at current positions. Storage personnel, take utmost care not to disturb the remains of the fallen.-

Swoooosh…

The sound of something being released came from outside the window, and our altitude gradually began to decrease.

The mountains I had been looking down upon now met my eyes, and soon I found myself looking up at the stones, trees, and soil that formed them.

Thud.

With a dull resonant sound, we landed.

[Landing complete.]

The deflated gas bag. And now, in this solemn atmosphere, it was time to pay final respects to the dead.

Screech…

The large portal connected directly to the storage area opened, and we moved forward in rows and columns, carrying the bodies of the fallen on carts.

Standing at our sides were the knight apprentices.

For those training to become knights, it was both a duty and a right to witness the final moments of those who died as ordinary people like themselves.

The apprentices, dressed in white ceremonial robes with ceremonial swords in their right hands, raised their swords high toward the sky as we passed by.

And at the far end stood high-ranking knights with bowed heads, and two traveling knights carrying torches.

Then, the ritual questioning began.

“‘Who has died?'”

“Those who have departed are my soldiers!”

“‘Was their end honorable?'”

“I swear under the radiance of the sun. They are worthy to enter the paradise of the gods!”

“‘Has their service ended?'”

“By mounting a desperate defense, with unyielding determination without retreat, their flesh has transformed into spirit. As their lord, I solemnly declare their service complete!”

“‘Their honor was loyalty, their glory was death, and their heaven shall be prepared above the heavens. The hall of knights who save all people under heaven welcomes those who fought until death.'”

I advanced, watching as swirling snow covered the shrouds, comforting the departed souls.

Waiting for me was an elderly knight adorned with numerous medals. He stood holding a long staff, waiting for me.

“Victor Walker. Traveling Knight of the Sun. I request that those who died in the recent battle be honorably returned to their families, as is proper.”

The high knight silently struck the ground three times with his staff.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

Without aura infused. The hollow sound echoed like that of an angry old man striking the ground with his cane.

“Where is their homeland?”

“Zirconia. A member state of the Coastal Federation.”

He nodded, then struck the ground three more times with his staff.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

“What were their achievements?”

“Against overwhelming forces, despite fatal disadvantages, they fought to the end following orders, earning glory and honor.”

He nodded again, then struck the ground three more times with his staff.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

“Can you testify to their final moments?”

“In the name of the sun, I will testify even in the heavenly court that they fulfilled their duty.”

“Then let us raise a toast to the fallen.”

With those words, he stepped aside.

He moved to the right, and the two torch bearers led the procession. Thus, we were able to lay the dead to rest with the highest honors in the deep underground repository.

*

“The priests will pray for their souls and give blessings before sending the bodies to their families. It will be sent in the name of the Relief Knight Order, so don’t worry too much.”

“I express my gratitude for your kindness. We will depart once the treatment of the soldiers is complete, so I entrust them to your care.”

“Hmm. Saving the wounded is also a virtue of knighthood.”

Each branch of the Relief Knight Order is an enormous castle, and naturally, castles have doctors and nurses stationed to help those with infectious diseases or injuries.

With their help, the wounded soldiers could receive prompt treatment.

“Repairing limb loss requires a lot of effort, so it won’t be finished in a day or two… I hope you have ample time.”

“Well, time is what we have plenty of.”

“That’s fortunate then.”

Physical regeneration requires following complicated procedures.

It’s much more expensive and time-consuming than simply replacing an arm with a mechanical one, so most people choose implants. However, those who need uniformity, like soldiers, or those requiring exceptional sensory abilities, often pay the high price to recover their original limbs.

As I was conversing with the repository manager, there was a knock and the door opened.

“Lord Victor. The branch head is calling for you.”

“Hmm. I’ll go right away.”

Upon my words, the manager silently let me go.

We had already said everything that needed to be said, and above all, there was no way he could keep me when the branch head was calling.

As I opened the door and left, the messenger followed me and began guiding the way.

“Why is the branch head calling me?”

“Probably to hear your account. What kind of battle took place, how it unfolded… and how it concluded.”

“Does he really need to hear that?”

“The branch head must listen. He collects battle records to pass on to the priests for creating textbooks and guidelines.”

“In other words, gathering historical materials.”

“That’s right.”

Even for a single branch, the branch head is no different from a city mayor.

Having received my commission at Branch 445, I knew well that a Relief Knight Order branch was no different from a small city-state.

Especially this Branch 1121, being much larger than Branch 445, would require that much more effort from its head.

The larger the branch, the higher the workload naturally becomes. The fact that the branch head called me to hear my story directly meant he thought my battle was worth showing to others.

“Aren’t battles inside airships quite common?”

“They are common.”

“Then why call me directly? There must be other officials in charge.”

“But firing field artillery and heavy machine guns inside an airship isn’t common.”

“Ah.”

I couldn’t help but scratch my head.

But… if you have field artillery and heavy machine guns, you can’t just let them sit idle…

“…Is that really not a common thing?”

“No.”

“But wait, there are ship cannons mounted, so why isn’t firing cannons inside common? Technically, since the operating parts of ship cannons are all inside, wouldn’t that count as firing from inside?”

“That’s true, but ship cannons fire their shells outward. Fighting inside an airship with implosions that could wreck the entire vessel is something that could be in textbooks as what not to do.”

“…”

Put that way, I had nothing to say and scratched my head again.

Before I knew it, I had arrived at the branch head’s office, and I opened the door and entered.

*

“So, you’re the knight of madness who fired cannons inside an airship.”

“I’m a Knight of the Sun, actually…”

“Whether you follow the Twin Moon faith or the Four Great Gods faith, firing a 155mm field artillery inside a ship means you’ve been blessed with madness. Wouldn’t you agree?”

Not knowing how to respond, I just stood there blankly until the branch head offered me a chair.

Sitting somewhat awkwardly, I was only able to speak after taking a sip of the warm tea the branch head had poured for me.

“Whether it’s madness or not, you do what needs to be done when necessary. Thanks to that, didn’t we stop 1,800 aura users with only 2,500 casualties?”

“Oh… If that’s the case, then firing artillery should definitely be considered.”

If you can’t respond at human scale, bring out the heavy equipment.

It may seem absurd for a tank to charge at a single person, but that’s just how the world works.

If I managed to stop 1,800 aura users—who could kill thousands under the right conditions—with the lives of 2,500 ordinary people, then I’m nothing short of a tactical genius.

And so, I explained the details of the battle to the branch head, who laughed heartily throughout, commending my madness.