Ch.667The Eighth

Life is like the old saying about fortune and misfortune being unpredictable.

Unfortunately for the two of them, the female knight they had randomly chosen turned out to be the commander’s mistress, leading to their discovery. However, the border guards were also in the midst of withdrawing to avoid the Ka’har, so their forces were significantly reduced compared to normal.

Otherwise, even someone like Knut wouldn’t have been able to break through and reach the imperial border.

Thanks to pushing the nine runes to their limits, Knut and Frigg were able to shake off the border guards’ pursuit and reach the imperial camp.

Making a mockery of their title as border guards, Dane’s pursuit team didn’t even approach the border for fear of provoking the imperial army.

Knut wondered whether he should criticize their pathetic behavior or be grateful since it allowed him and Frigg to survive. Eventually, he decided to stop thinking about it.

Rather than wasting time on such useless concerns, it seemed a thousand times more rational to worry about what would happen next.

It was about an hour later when the lights of the imperial border fortress came into his view.

“Those lights…? I see. We’ve finally arrived…”

“We both somehow managed to survive. Thank goodness.”

When Knut muttered with deep emotion, Frigg also let out a sigh of relief and smiled faintly.

“Yes. This must all be thanks to Volberg’s protection. We should be grateful to him.”

Frigg’s footsteps stopped. Puzzled by the sudden halt, Knut turned his head to look at her face.

Frigg’s brow was strangely contorted, as if she might shout at any moment.

“…This is infuriating.”

Her voice that escaped through her teeth was so small that Knut couldn’t understand what she said.

“Frigg? What did you just…”

“Knut. Please carefully consider and answer the question I’m about to ask. Carefully. Understand?”

Frigg said, glaring at Knut. Her gaze was so intense it seemed like beams might shoot from her eyes, causing Knut to unconsciously flinch and nod.

“When you attempted your reckless suicidal act, who dissuaded you and suggested a more rational plan?”

“…That would be you.”

“Yes. Me. The brilliant and rational rising star of the intelligence department. Frigg Kalid.”

Frigg declared, pressing firmly on her breastplate.

“…?”

Knut couldn’t understand why Frigg was suddenly asking such obvious questions.

Of course, Frigg didn’t care whether Knut understood or not and simply moved on to the next question.

“When our plan was discovered and we were surrounded by Ragnar and the crusaders, who acted quickly to help you escape safely? What’s that person’s name?”

“…Frigg Kalid.”

“You know well. The reliable knight who always prioritizes your safety. Frigg Kalid.”

Frigg nodded and then opened her mouth again.

“Who took care of you when you couldn’t even walk after your rune power was depleted, evaded enemies, hid, sometimes broke through, and brought you all the way here?”

“…You did.”

“Then, should you be thanking Volberg, who might as well be sleeping in heaven and hasn’t granted you a single power, or the capable and beautiful Frigg Kalid who helped you accomplish all this without sparing her own body?”

Frigg asked with a smile. Only the corners of her mouth turned up, while her eyes showed no trace of humor.

“Well…”

Knut was about to answer according to the common sense he had learned as a crusader.

Planning is the work of humans, but success depends on the gods, so if a plan succeeds, one should rightfully thank the gods…

However, his warrior instinct stopped his mouth. It warned that something terrible would happen if he uttered those words.

So Knut had no choice but to carefully say the answer his instinct claimed was correct.

“…Of course it’s thanks to you, Frigg.”

As if it was indeed the right answer, Frigg nodded with a bright smile.

“I’m glad. Now you understand. How capable and precious a subordinate I am.”

“Hm? That’s obvious.”

Knut tilted his head and questioned.

“I’ve always thought you were more than I deserve. Why bring it up now?”

The fact that Frigg was a capable and precious subordinate was so obvious that there was no need to explicitly state it.

“…Is that so.”

Perhaps it was an unexpected answer, as Frigg slightly turned her head away from Knut.

“That makes me happy.”

To hide her relaxed expression and reddened cheeks.

—-

The two started walking again and soon arrived at the border. After a brief inspection, they were able to meet Haschal without delay.

“It’s been a while.”

The Empire’s First Sword, Aishan-Gioro Haschal, sat cross-legged on a chair in the center of the tent, smiling as he fidgeted with the mana herb in his mouth.

As if they weren’t even a threat, he was dressed in casual clothes without even wearing armor.

‘Good heavens…’

Knut swallowed a quiet groan at the sight of Haschal again.

They say the position makes the person. Aishan-Gioro Haschal, whom he met again after a year, was completely different from before.

His face, which had looked ferocious and violent like a beast, now had the arrogant dignity characteristic of nobility, and his eyes, which had seemed hunted, had become firm and sharp like a sword.

The change wasn’t just in appearance.

The killing intent that had once been rough and uncontrolled was now perfectly contained within her body, and the accumulated karma was so deep that just making eye contact made one’s survival instinct scream to flee immediately.

‘Strong. Unfathomably strong.’

The woman who hadn’t even reached the level of a master before wearing that ominous gauntlet had, in just a year, become a monster that he didn’t even dare to confront.

Although he reflexively responded sharply to her mocking tone, his back was already damp with cold sweat.

‘There’s no need to even consider revenge…’

Confronting her would be a meaningless death.

He could sense it instinctively. The moment he showed killing intent, the monster before him could turn him and Frigg into a pool of blood without even rising from the chair.

Knut suppressed his trembling body and told her everything that had happened so far.

======[ Haschal ]======

“…That’s what happened.”

Knut’s story was longer than I expected. Long enough for the cigarette in my mouth to be replaced with a new one.

Of course, there were only a few pieces of valuable information.

How they escaped here, or the fact that the woman next to him was looking at Knut the way Millia looks at Demian was none of my business.

There were only four important points:

The moment the Dane army leaves the border, the imperial army’s operation plan will be completely disrupted.

The seal magic… or what Knut explained as rune magic, can be strengthened by offering human blood as a sacrifice.

Among rune magic, there exists a rune that can forcibly subdue other rune magicians.

And, there’s one more one-eyed magic-crusader in Dane.

“About this Ragnar guy. Does he happen to use a broad one-handed sword as his main weapon, and has he mastered magic or powers that control plants?”

“…You knew about Ragnar?”

Knut responded in a surprised tone and nodded. He explained that one of Ragnar’s rune seals, the rune ‘ᛃ’, has the power to control vegetation.

Good heavens.

I held my forehead and sighed inwardly. I wasn’t sure whether to be happy or confused about this. I never expected a rune that controls plants to exist.

It was unexpected. After all, the concept of runes never appeared in the original work.

No, thinking about it, it did appear. It’s just that there was no explanation that the nature of that power was rune magic.

Without such an explanation, I naturally thought it was fairy power. The principle might be different, but the result was the same.

“Haah…”

I exhaled cigarette smoke, erasing the confusion in my mind.

Knut had said that the Dane royal family seemed to have gone mad lately.

The moment I heard about Ragnar, I could be certain of the reason and who was behind it.

Wielding a Dane-style sword, using various magic, and freely controlling all kinds of plants—a one-eyed magic swordsman.

It was identical to the methods of the eighth apostle of the Forgotten Gods’ Order.

Because of his plant-controlling abilities, players believed he must be of fairy origin… but to think he was a pure Dane.

To discover the apostle’s identity this way. Although it should be a joyous occasion, it was so unexpected that I felt more dumbfounded than happy.

—-

The identity of the eighth apostle, shrouded in mystery, was Ragnar Lokan, a member of the Dane royal family.

I was the only one who realized this, and it was information I couldn’t easily disclose to others.

If someone asked how I knew, I wouldn’t have an answer.

Anyway, now that I knew his identity, capturing and interrogating him became a certainty.

Given that Orhan’s army was likely rushing to Highpass, it would be impossible to capture and torture Ragnar right now.