Let’s Just Make One Thing Clear

“I told you to call me Boss when I’m active, didn’t I?”

“So-sorry, Boss… Gack!”

The escapee gasping as he’s grabbed by the hand extended with an angry voice.

The sight of a grown man’s body being lifted entirely in the grasp of the one who walked out of the darkness was itself telling that the opponent was no ordinary skilled person.

Of course, being a force targeting the saint, they wouldn’t have just gathered some mediocre guys.

“Are you the boss?”

I asked, approaching the leader who was throwing away the underling he had just grabbed in his hand, after spitting out the finished cigarette.

The moonlight revealed as the breeze parted the leaves. What it illuminated was a middle-aged man with a bushy beard on his chin.

The surface of the thick hand axe gripped in his hand was stained black, as if it had absorbed one type of liquid over a long time.

It means he’s killed enough people for the iron in blood to cause oxidation on the weapon.

“Yes, it seems my men have been indebted to you. Damn bitch.”

The man swaggering while raising the blade as if to use even such a weapon as a threat.

But coincidentally, this side had long since graduated from being scared by such things.

In the first place, the strongest in this world is a woman, so what’s this about a woman in a fight?

“By the way, you, I’ve seen your face on wanted posters, haven’t I?”

“Oh? You know me?”

Yes, it was a common occurrence in war.

Taking advantage of the confusion to start a civil war, and even backstabbing allies to seize power and wealth.

“Well, let’s at least greet each other since we’re meeting for the first time. Hello. Mr. Grian Kais, who got caught trying to sell out his own kingdom during the war and ran away in his underwear. I heard you were doing banditry in the border areas until a few years ago, what brings you to this central area?”

Grian Kais.

Originally the second prince of the small Kais Kingdom, he was a rascal scoundrel who had enjoyed luxury and debauchery using the power of royalty at the expense of the people’s taxes since then.

Not content with that, he even attempted a rebellion in his own country and was exiled…

In fact, regardless of his origin, he is now a ‘criminal’ who shouldn’t even be associated with.

“No, you should drop the Kais now too. It’s been a while since you were removed from the family register, how long are you going to keep that name?”

“…You’re quite insolent for a wench.”

Rascal Grian gripping his axe tightly, seemingly displeased by the greeting containing such facts.

“Although I’m in this state now, royal blood flows through my body. Do you think you’re allowed to speak as if you’re on equal terms with me?”

“The era of peace isn’t all good. Even a traitor talks about honor.”

“It wasn’t me who committed treason, it was those guys. At a time when they should have fought to the end in the name of the country, they accepted domination by signing a peace treaty instead of resisting the Empire. Is that something a royal should do?”

“Wasn’t that story already over 10 years old? When I went to see recently, even His Majesty the King’s face had grown plump.”

I’m also indebted to the Grand Duke’s household after all. While running various errands, I had set foot in the Kais Kingdom a few times as a proxy for diplomats.

To a place that had prospered to the point where the name ‘small country’ seemed inappropriate until before the war.

In fact, at first, the Empire was thinking of annexing the Kais Kingdom for military purposes to open a path, but after the war ended, the Kais Kingdom even built a dedicated hall and was fulfilling its role as a diplomatic ground responsible for peace between the Empire and other countries.

If the rebellion at that time had succeeded, such a scene would never have been seen.

In the worst case, the war might have continued even now, two years later.

“Why don’t you just speak honestly? That since you, as the second prince, wouldn’t have a chance at the throne anyway, you tried to instigate a revolution by branding your brother’s choice to enter under the Empire as treason.”

“…Your tongue-wagging is impressive. For someone who serves an order with barely 20 years of history.”

Mr. Grian Kais grinding his teeth, seemingly angered by my words.

But even that was soon swallowed by a sneer.

As if looking down on the person mocking him.

“Bo-Boss. Be careful. That woman is strong.”

At that moment, a subordinate running from behind to give a warning.

The voice of the guy who had been beaten badly earlier was tinged with fear.

Fear directed not towards me, but towards ‘his lord’ who had been driving him until now.

“Strong? That woman?”

Grian didn’t withdraw his sneer despite the warning.

“She certainly must be strong. Most clergy can’t engage in combat unless they’re holy knights, but it’s different for Cleas believers.”

“Haha, you speak as if you know our order well.”

“I do know well. The thing hanging around your neck is something that remains in my memory too.”

The red rosary.

While quietly gripping the ornament symbolizing the Cleas Order, Grian, who had taken note of it, said with a sinister smile.

“You, are you from the Red Cross Unit?”

“……”

“Kuhahaha! Yes, I thought so! There’s no one from that unit who doesn’t wear that necklace!”

Rascal Grian bursting into laughter seeing my silence.

As I coldly watched that reaction, Grian’s subordinates who were hesitating behind him began to ask uncertainly.

“By Red Cross Unit, do you mean the special unit of the Imperial Army created directly by Archduke Aries?”

“The small elite force that enters the front lines without any armament…”

“Yes, that’s right.”

Although he had been harshly scolding his subordinates until just now. From the moment he guessed my identity, all his attention was directed at me.

As if expecting what’s about to unfold.

“The Red Cross is a unit created by the Imperial Army solely for saving lives… It’s known that they, who go to the most dangerous front lines, even discard armor and weapons to secure even a little mobility as they come and go to the very front lines.”

That in itself was what was called a ‘winning move’.

Yes, confidence stemming from having grounds that there’s nothing much to be anxious about with someone of this level.

“But can surviving on the front lines be called strength?”

“Huh? Of course that’s…”

“Those who flee ugly and disgracefully can also exaggerate their stories to tell the world.”

Grian, firmly denying common sense, narrowed his gaze looking at me.

As if he had seen through me now.

“When faced with the strong of the continent, all they could do was just run away like mad. Am I wrong?”

“…You’re not wrong.”

No, every single thing was a fact.

In reality, the main purpose of the Red Cross Unit was not combat but saving lives.

They mainly worked on giving first aid to soldiers and officers dying after hard battles, keeping them barely alive and returning to the main force to escort them to the clergy in the rear.

Naturally, combat was only considered as a last resort to shake off pursuers.

For someone at the level of being called strong on the continent, the Red Cross Unit was an existence hardly worth calling a threat.

“But, didn’t your subordinates get completely trashed by just me, who’s supposedly insignificant?”

“Kuhahaha! How could I, born with the destiny of a king, do everything alone with my own hands? To achieve great things, you need to know how to fill in numbers, whether competent or lacking.”

Even though quite some time has passed since he was driven out, he still can’t let go of his greed.

Of course, those who stick with him are all that kind of guys in the end.

Guys who follow with a vague expectation that if they’re loyal to him, they’ll be rewarded for that loyalty soon, since royal blood flows in him even if he’s a trash scoundrel.

“Of course, whatever the case, someone who went to the front lines and survived must have quite a temper. Yes, even the guy I faced back then eventually forced me to step in personally.”

But what’s important now is not the circumstances of his subordinates, but how he’s so well aware of information about the Red Cross Unit I belonged to.

“It was an extremely fun fight. At first, he rushed in arrogantly, but after being pushed back a bit, he ran away with his tail between his legs and then…”

-Thud.

“…ended up like this in the end.”

Something thrown from his bosom.

What fell to the ground was a ‘red rosary’ identical to the one hanging around my neck.

He said smugly while stomping on that rosary.

“So, how does it feel to meet the enemy of your old comrade, believer of Cleas?”

“……”

Old comrade.

The moment I heard those words, I took a moment to organize what he was saying in my head.

So what?

Does this guy have a perverted hobby of collecting things from people whose necks he cut off, and that rosary is something that belonged to someone in the unit I used to be in?

He fought that person, and took it as a trophy to commemorate his victory?

“Phew.”

As I sighed from frustration, the lingering scent of the remaining cigarette assaulted me with the sensation of stirring my tongue.

Saliva flowing as I savored that sensation.

Swallowing that which gradually pooled under my tongue was the entirety of my immediate reaction.

“Your reaction is rather bland. Aren’t you angry?”

“Angry? Not at all.”

I shrugged while snorting.

“Should I be surprised by this much? I’ve seen people dying on a daily basis, and in the unit I belonged to, seven out of ten died. It would be strange to go crazy because someone died when it’s already burdensome to remember everyone.”

But half of what I’m saying now is a lie.

Coincidentally, the unit I belonged to was always operated with personnel below a platoon, and even that was all dying off regardless of rank.

The reason I took charge of the unit in my early 20s was because all the people above me had died in succession.

Since so many people died, there weren’t many who remained until the end when the war ended.

So that necklace must surely belong to someone I remember.

“…But if you provoked, you must be prepared, right?”

The reason I can maintain my composure despite this is because I know that concentration also wavers if emotions get too mushy.

So let’s postpone finding out who the owner of that necklace is and when and how to commemorate them for later.

“Prepared? For what?”

Now is the time to think about how to roast the idiot in front of me.

“Prepared to stake your life.”

-Hiss.

Sparks bursting forth with the friction of fingers burn the end of the newly placed cigarette in my mouth.

As the heat lingering on my fingertips fades away, I gradually controlled my boiling emotions while gripping the cigarette with those fingers.

“…Grian Kais.”

I speak in that state.

“I roughly understand why you’re playing around here.”

Enunciating his real name.

With my own version of ‘politeness when dealing with an equal’.

“In short, someone put a bounty on Haide’s saint in the underworld, and you need money to build an army to usurp the kingdom again… No, at least you yourself believe that’s the path for the bloodline flowing in your body.”

Yes, what I’m saying now is not sarcasm or anything.

In the first place, war is a ‘fight between those with different justices’, and only the victor in that can argue about justice.

So what’s happening here can be said to be a kind of war in a broad sense.

And because of that…

“So, for now, I’ll consider what you’re doing as something for someone’s justice.”

“…What are you trying to say, wench?”

“I also have a request to protect the saint, you see.”

-Whirr.

Mana vibrating from my fingertips.

Along with that, the mana seeping into every corner of my body was being operated in a way completely different from when I faced those small fries earlier.

“In the end, it means both of us have reasons we can’t back down. So from now on, let’s not argue about each other’s circumstances and just make one thing… just one thing clear.”

Discarding the light-hearted attitude I had until now, gradually approaching this situation ‘seriously’.

Familiar but never wanting to experience again.

But always prepared to bring out when needed…

“Just make sure we’re both aware that what we’re about to engage in is a battle of slaughter.”

Truly this moment.

The resolution that this might be the last of this life.

“Kuhahaha! A battle of slaughter!? That’s exactly what I want!!”

Grian responding to me with a deep smile.

He too began to greatly vibrate the mana imbued in his axe as if expecting the battle to come.

“Come, Red Cross Unit wench. From now on, I, Grian Kais, will be your opponent! Try to entertain me once on this honorable battlefield! And give me that neck…”

-BOOM!!!!!

The explosion swallowing his blabbering right after.

As soon as the mana loaded in my legs stamps the ground, the earth splits and overturns.

Even the trees planted on it eventually soared into the air.

And at that moment, my fist was already tightly clenched.

-Whoosh!!

The fist behind the sonic boom.

Was already accurately aimed at the face of the enemy in front of me.