Ch.68Seed (3)

Two cavalrymen, two warriors on horseback, are advancing along an ancient imperial road stretching across the vast plains.

One is a knight. Mounted on a warhorse so massive it barely seems like a horse, he is clad in sturdy armor from head to toe and festooned with various weapons.

The knight’s impressive physique perfectly complements his enormous warhorse, whose size slightly exceeds that of normal creatures thanks to its magical beast lineage. The description “imposingly built” seems tailor-made for him.

Yes, that’s me. Camille de Alzar. The only son of Baron Alzar who rules this land, and the designated heir to the small lordship.

Meanwhile, the man riding beside me is quite different.

Except for a breastplate slightly larger than his body, he’s equipped entirely in leather armor, and his mount is a relatively smaller riding horse that doubles as a pack animal compared to my warhorse Corin.

The weapons attached to his saddle or body consist of just one arming sword, with most of his baggage being supplies. In truth, he resembles a servant more than a warrior. His name is Pierre.

“How’s the ride treating you?”

“Y-Yes! It’s fine, sir!”

“…Good. Still, be careful. Let me know immediately if there’s any problem.”

“Ah, understood!”

Just yesterday, he was an ordinary freeman from the village, and now he’s become my retainer, learning various things under my guidance.

Since my father summoned me, we had to depart as quickly as possible, which meant bringing along Pierre despite his lack of training. However, this fellow has shown surprisingly more aptitude as a warrior than I initially expected.

What impressed me most about Pierre was his motor skills—his ability to control and maneuver his body.

The only weapons—or rather tools—he had ever handled were spears, axes, hoes, and clubs. Yet when I placed an arming sword in his hands, he instinctively grasped how best to wield this blade of several dozen centimeters.

I merely taught him the basics and corrected his posture a bit, yet now he’s skillfully riding horseback, even comfortably conversing while controlling his mount.

Although Pierre’s horse is a docile pack animal bred for easy handling, horses are ultimately more demanding, sensitive, and perceptive creatures than modern people might imagine.

To handle with such proficiency a beast that has been bred over thousands of years to read its rider’s emotions, and on his first attempt no less… this can only be explained as some innate talent or gift.

Moreover, when I taught him how to strengthen his body through internal mana manipulation just for practice, he not only consciously performed what had been unconscious reinforcement within mere tens of minutes but even employed the advanced technique of focused reinforcement.

This technique accelerates the circulation of internal mana, increasing mana consumption but amplifying physical abilities beyond their normal state.

Honestly, witnessing such remarkable performance has awakened something akin to talent-hunger within me.

Typically, those born with the aptitude to become knights—intermediate-level warriors—comprise about one in every thousand people. If we include gaps that can be bridged through personal effort, the ratio of those with natural talent would be roughly one in every 200-300 people.

However, even those born with talent may not all advance to the intermediate level due to personality factors or family circumstances. Many also lose their lives to unfortunate accidents before they can fully develop their potential.

Therefore, knights are undoubtedly precious talents, and those showing such potential should never have their value diminished or—

“…Hmm?”

But just then, after being lost in thought for quite some time, I suddenly became aware of a strange presence. Noticing the warning from my intuition, I could roughly assess the current situation.

In essence, the warning I felt indicated the presence of hostile entities nearby. Judging by the lack of any specific pattern, they didn’t seem particularly formidable, but nonetheless, I couldn’t afford to be careless.

No matter how weak, an enemy is still an enemy. In combat situations filled with countless variables, carelessness is a direct path to death. Feeling the need for caution, I issued an order to Pierre.

“Pierre, halt.”

“…Yes. What’s the matter, sir?”

That attitude—following orders first before questioning them. Military-like, I suppose.

In any case, it’s not a bad attitude for a retainer to have. Inwardly impressed, I promptly answered his question.

“I sense something nearby.”

“…Can knights detect such things, sir?”

“No, not exactly. It’s just my intuition.”

As I finished speaking, Pierre naturally showed a look of disbelief at my mention of intuition. Feeling it would be better for him to see for himself rather than receive lengthy explanations, I composed myself and—

“…Ah, over there.”

“…Understood.”

Following the miraculous logic that he probably wouldn’t believe any explanation anyway, I led him in the direction my intuition indicated instead of offering explanations.

And after traveling some distance…

‘It must be around here.’

Pierre and I arrived at the location of the hostile entities I had sensed through my intuition, reaching a secluded spot overlooking a somewhat desolate basin.

‘…Undead?’

What entered my field of vision was none other than an undead horde.

※ ※ ※

In this world, there exists a race(?) of moving corpses called the undead.

They are representative hostile entities (monsters) to humanity, formed when corpses that have already experienced biological death or souls disconnected from their physical bodies gain an identity(?) as independent entities.

They move using “necromantic energy”—something akin to an undead version of “divine power”—which emanates from decaying corpses or sites of numerous deaths. In a sense, they are existences that defy Earth’s scientific principles.

The behavioral principle of these undead can be simply described as deficiency and desire.

Although it varies by type, most undead possess certain deficient elements, and the deficiency common to the vast majority is a deficiency of “life.”

No matter how closely undead may resemble living beings, they are ultimately dead things animated by magical power.

Therefore, they instinctively antagonize all living things that possess the life they lack.

This deficiency is unavoidable for anyone who is undead.

Even high-ranking vampires, who outwardly appear normal, typically harbor at least one or two mental disorders.

It’s not uncommon to see an undead neighbor who was gentle and kind until yesterday suddenly snap and tear people apart the next day.

Therefore, even if they appear capable of communication, undead are classified as heretics simply by their existence, and the most fundamental reason for this social perspective is…

“Pierre, how many times have you seen an undead horde?”

“…Yes. They’ve attacked our village several times.”

It’s likely because of the countless victims created when undead hordes like this frequently emerge and attack settlements.

Undead hordes typically begin when necromantic energy naturally develops as long-abandoned corpses decay, stimulating the corpses and causing naturally occurring undead to emerge.

Of course, since these individual undead entities possess negligible power, many are destroyed at this stage. However, in rare cases, they may attack someone else who then also becomes undead.

This distinctive phenomenon, where mindless undead created through such chain reactions cluster together and wander, is what people call an undead horde.

Additionally, in this world, so many people die away from home that even if less than 1% of them become part of undead hordes, the numbers are truly staggering.

As a result, these mindless undead inflict considerable damage on civilians, and Pierre was no exception, as he watched that undead group with a somewhat fearful expression.

Yes, despite my presence right beside him.

If I were a poor-quality knight, I would harshly reprimand Pierre, my retainer, at this point and spout nonsense.

But I am, despite appearances, an exceedingly merciful and kind knight. Considering what lies ahead, the best approach is undoubtedly to ensure he can receive a certain degree of trust—

“Pierre, conceal yourself here.”

“…Pardon?”

“Retainer Pierre, I’ll say it once more. Conceal yourself here. I will advance.”

Having spotted them, I couldn’t leave that undead horde alone. I intended to subjugate them single-handedly, thereby securing Pierre’s complete trust in me as his knight.

According to what I learned from Corin, the highest virtue a retainer should possess is the attitude of trusting and following whatever their knight says, regardless of what it might be.