Ch.247Chapter 247: Arrival and Aftermath (1)

The airship, cutting through the wind with an intensity that made even that expression seem inadequate, reached its destination—not North Castler Town, the largest northern city, but a wasteland not far from Night Haven.

Despite the unprecedented offensive from the magical beasts that had the front lines struggling.

Thanks to the dedication of imperial soldiers desperately preventing the creatures’ southward advance.

Having confirmed from the air that North Castler Town was still safe, apart from the heavy atmosphere of impending war.

Princess Lucius decided there was no reason to linger, and they passed by immediately.

Though this decision brought unprecedented tension to the faces of the young officials among the delegation members unaccustomed to war.

A telegram from Night Haven, received just as they passed over North Castler Town, somewhat lifted the shadow that had fallen over their expressions.

It was good news: despite the fierce magical beast offensive that had repeatedly shaken Night Haven’s defenses.

And despite the disappearance of Iriana Lanos, the vice-commander of the Imperial Knights.

A detachment had miraculously succeeded in joining forces with the fortress and repelling the enemy’s offensive.

Yes, good news is good news. It contained a record of victory, of somehow overcoming a precarious situation, so it was good news, and recognizing that brought relief to the expressions of those young officials.

But such relief at news of victory would be short-lived.

Even in normal years, when repelling magical beast invasions was routine, Night Haven was an incredibly harsh place for ordinary people with no connection to war.

It would only be a matter of time before their briefly relaxed expressions turned pale again once they approached the fortress, where the atmosphere was incomparably more intense than in normal years.

Noticing the constantly changing expressions of the delegation members, Princess Lucius said:

“…As soon as we land, the delegation members will head straight back to the capital without disembarking.”

“I will follow your orders.”

When the instruction to return them to the capital immediately after landing was given, deeper relief settled on the faces of the officials who had been comforted by the news of victory, making the princess’s choice impossible not to support.

[Good decision. This is no time to be protecting people who’d just scream in fear.]

‘Those officials may not be weak enough to scream, regardless…’

[Then they’d faint standing up instead.]

‘…That’s plausible.’

Anyway, to ease the tension rising as we approached Night Haven, I passed the time exchanging silly jokes with Pafnir.

“…In my excitement, I showed Your Highness an unseemly display unbecoming of a knight.”

Excel arrived before the princess with dignified steps, showing no sign of having been knocked unconscious by his own lightning, and immediately knelt on one knee to apologize.

“I hope you channel that rising indignation on the battlefield.”

As I watched the princess calmly accept Excel’s apology.

I could see thick black smoke rising to where our airship was positioned, welcoming us.

It was so pitch black that I worried the stench might seep into the airship’s interior, despite it being designed to keep out the polluted external air.

This smoke likely came from the incineration of magical beast corpses that had accumulated near Night Haven, which had become a battleground between the empire and the magical beasts after repeated fierce battles.

In previous years, they would have incinerated the creatures’ remains without producing smoke even after fierce battles.

But if reports of an unprecedented invasion force were true, the number of magical beasts roaming the cold northern wasteland would be extraordinary.

If they pursued efficiency, the land of the north would become a morgue, unable to keep up with the flood of corpses.

So I suspect they focused on immediate disposal rather than efficiency, resulting in this smoke.

Just seeing the smoke sends all kinds of thoughts through my mind.

I should be contributing to the effort by strewing the bodies of these creatures trying to trample our homeland across the ground.

Before my regression, I witnessed such a large-scale invasion of magical beasts and lost the will to fight, thinking only of escape due to helplessness.

Now I’m determined to make them taste my cold fury.

Though I preach calmness verbally, instinctively I’m searching for an outlet for my impatience and anger. I almost let a bitter smile form, but.

[Stay calm. Maintaining composure in times like these is essential for accomplishing great tasks.]

Thanks to Pafnir’s efforts to convey calmness, I managed not to distort my expression.

‘I’ll take your advice to heart.’

As I finished organizing the various thoughts that came to mind while looking at the acrid smoke.

The massive body of the airship finally made contact with the ground rather than the sky, sending a light vibration throughout the cabin.

“Your Highness, we have arrived at Night Haven.”

The captain’s announcement that we had reached the battlefield fell.

The escort knight mission, which had been entirely peaceful except for one unexpected situation, officially came to an end.

And the moment to resume the true duty of the Imperial Knights—protecting the empire’s peace at the frontlines—had begun.

#

As soon as the airship landed at the closest point to Night Haven, which had successfully repelled several waves of magical beast offensives:

“As I mentioned earlier, personnel not needed for combat should remain on the airship and return immediately to the capital to report on support force organization. Given the situation, we need elite troops rather than ordinary soldiers, and to summon them, an objective understanding of the situation is necessary. Here is my request with my seal for personnel from the Royal Knights and Umbra.”

“I will carry out the task entrusted to me without fail.”

Princess Lucius handed the captain, who was now tasked with immediately returning the non-combat delegation officials, a support request document bearing her seal to ensure swift follow-up measures.

Early this morning, as soon as she saw the shocking telegram, I noticed her having Wibel write something diligently—it turns out that was a request for reinforcements to be sent to the crown prince.

Seeing her calmly handle such matters at a moment when others would be paralyzed with despair, I’m beginning to develop respect for Her Highness, who demonstrates the same remarkable capabilities she showed in that time of tragedy that now only I remember, despite being even younger now.

“Your Highness, I wish you good fortune in battle.”

After respectfully receiving the reinforcement request from the princess, the captain paid his respects and departed the north with the officials who would serve as witnesses to report what they had seen and felt to the imperial court.

He drove the airship at a much faster speed than when he had brought us here.

I wanted to write an appreciation of the impressive performance of this newly developed airship with five mana circuits connected in parallel rather than just one, but:

“I’m sorry for assigning you a much more dangerous mission than escorting the delegation.”

As Princess Lucius moved toward the south gate of Night Haven and offered a brief apology to the three of us serving as her escorts:

“Though we are not Royal Guards, it is the mission of the Imperial Knights, including myself, to protect the pillars that support the empire. Please don’t worry about it.”

I had to respond in a calm tone so as not to embarrass her, so there was no time to waste on writing appreciations.

At the beginning of winter, during the approximately two weeks spent traveling between the two continents:

I alternately experienced the beauty of winter in the Eastern Continent, which crystallized the charm of the season in a way that the Central Continent, with its less distinct seasonal changes, could not match.

And the harshness of the North, the only region that deviates from the blessed climate of the Central Continent, sometimes called the cursed land.

Previously, I had accepted the North’s severe climate as simply the nature of winter.

But after being thoroughly enchanted by the beauty of winter in the East:

My hostility toward the magical beasts who had reduced this land’s winter to such a state grew even stronger.

Rescuing my sister, defending the fortress, annihilating the magical beasts.

These three desires left no room in my heart for anything else.

So I quickly followed behind the princess, who was moving toward the fortress with Wibel at her side, along with Siz and Excel.

#

Our entry into Night Haven after a year’s absence proceeded quickly, befitting the urgent situation pervading the fortress.

The south gate was thrown wide open for the princess as soon as she disembarked from the airship, as the fortress had been busy preparing to receive her.

Unlike the north gate, which had suffered critical damage to parts of the outer wall after the magical beasts’ fierce assault, just like last year:

The south gate was functioning perfectly without any damage, which made me start to feel relieved that the situation might not be so serious that all personnel would have been deployed to defend the northern part of the fortress, when:

KUUUNG-!!

A heavy, resonant boom greeted our party as we entered the south gate, startling me.

…What was that? What kind of sound was that? Was it the impact from siege equipment deployed by the magical beasts?

Or was it the sound of explosive weapons, which they had been using in earnest to attack the fortress since two years ago, detonating against the outer walls? No, it sounded too close for that.

Unable to identify the source of the boom, I, along with Siz and Excel, simultaneously formed a shield-like formation in front of the princess, who hadn’t flinched at the sound.

Even Wibel, who protected her like a shadow, drew his sword in preparation for any emergency, but:

It took only a moment to confirm that the boom had nothing to do with any threat to the fortress.

Because another sound came immediately from the same source as the boom:

“To think that Your Highness would personally come here…”

Turning my head toward the solemn and mournful voice:

“I, Nighthart, am too ashamed to raise my head before you.”

The sight that greeted us was Lord Nighthart Parsifal, the highest authority currently defending Night Haven, kneeling with both knees on the ground, offering his apology to the princess.

That was the moment I understood the source of the earlier boom.

It was the shock wave created when his extremely well-trained body made forceful contact with the ground.