Chapter 20

“A magician…?”

I knew that Selina was hiding her identity.

But I never imagined she was a magician.

It was obvious.

I had virtually confirmed that there was a very high probability that she was a spy sent from the White Hero, and virtually no other possibilities.

I didn't anticipate such a twist.

Magicians were a unique type of soldier of the Alliance.

Therefore, I had no choice but to be exposed to her magic without any resistance.

SWISH!

The sound of a book opening filled the air, and numerous golden characters connected, forming a long strip.

It bound me and Viscount Lemming.

Golden Restraint.

A magic of extreme inefficiency, consuming a whopping 17 magic power.

This spell, which bound the target and suppressed the flow of magic power, though not perfectly, was famous for requiring considerable skill from its user.

Name: Selina Verdin.

Level: 1.

Attribute: Light.

Strength: 9 Agility: 13

Spirit: 10 Endurance: 12

Reflexes: 13 Resistance: 3

Magic Power: 28+1

Upon inspection with my Eye of Insight, Selina’s magic power, which had definitely not existed before, was displayed.

A worn-out, colorless ring fell at her feet.

Yetenna's Ring.

It was a consumable accessory item that hid the wearer’s magic power for a certain period.

“What on earth is this…”

Even I, who at least knew she was hiding her identity, was this confused.

How much more so for the others?

Viscount Lemming’s expression, in particular, was priceless.

He was staring at Selina like someone half out of his mind.

Selina, having completely subdued me and Viscount Lemming, subtly glanced at me.

"Ryan. And to my comrades of Unit 707, I must first apologize. My name is Selina Verdin.

I am to be appointed as the new commander of the newly established Unit 917, and before that, I wanted to see what kind of life the frontline soldiers were leading, so I secretly infiltrated Unit 707 using the alias Anya Kail.”

She bowed her head.

The soldiers of Unit 707, including me, couldn’t say a word.

Selina, who looked at us once with an apologetic gaze, then glared at Viscount Lemming with eyes so fierce it was hard to believe she was the same person.

“Viscount Lemming. First, I sincerely apologize for the trouble I caused due to my personal desires. The Verdin family will compensate for this.”

“Ve-Verdin? Then… the Marquis…”

“But before that. I greatly doubt your qualifications as a commander.You used His Majesty the King’s precious soldiers as mere consumables, you were not faithful to your role as a commander, and you even embezzled supplies and spoils of war from the battlefield to satisfy your personal greed.”

“That’s… a misunderstanding…”

“There can be no misunderstanding. It is the result of what I witnessed with my own eyes.”

She relentlessly pressed Viscount Lemming.

Selina Verdin.

She, too, was a noble of the kingdom.

Furthermore, if she was from a Marquis' family, she was a considerably high-ranking noble.

However, one thing was clear.

there was such a vast difference between Viscount Lemming and Selina that even grouping them together under the category of ‘noble’ would be an insult.

“I do not yet have the authority to apprehend you, as I have not yet been commissioned.However, as a member of the Verdin family, I recommend to ViscountLemming Paula, not the commander of Unit 707: I will return to my territory and accuse you. Please do nothing until the results are in. Just quietly await judgment.

That is the only way you can minimize your sentence.”

Selina warned him sternly.

I understood what she was thinking when she said that.

She must have said those words to help us as much as she could within her power, fearing that Viscount Lemming might take out his anger on us while she was away.

However, Selina had missed one thing.

That people… especially trash like him… will do anything when cornered.

It was a lack of experience.

“…If that happens, the Paula family will be finished.”

“That’s right. But it’s all your own doing.”

“Then… then I…”

Viscount Lemming muttered like someone out of his mind.

His head slowly turned.

His vacant eyes, as if his soul had been sucked out, fixed on Unit 707’s airship, which was docked.

What was he thinking?

Viscount Lemming grinned.

“Then I just need to get rid of all the witnesses, right? Hahahaha!”

His mad laughter grated on my ears.

Just as I thought.

I had hoped things might resolve easily with Selina’s appearance, but it ended up like this after all.

Considering Viscount Lemming’s greed from the start, there was little chance he would quietly obey Selina’s words.

“Lilisa!”

I shouted her name loudly.

My entire body was bound, so there was no way to give the pre-arranged signal.

Fortunately, Lilisa understood what I wanted and ran towards the wreckage of the crashed airship.

And then.

WHIRRR.

CLICK.

An eerie sound echoed throughout the clearing.

“Viscount Lemming. You wouldn’t dare…”

Selina gasped and turned her head in the direction of the sound.

The massive main cannon adorning the deck of Unit 707’s airship was aimed at Selina.

Viscount Lemming, caught in the Golden Restraint, couldn’t use magic.

Even if it wasn't for the Golden Restraint, Viscount Lemming’s magic power was mostly depleted, so he wouldn’t have been able to put up much resistance.

Selina would likely have even surpassed him in skill.

However, at least in this place, Viscount Lemming had one advantage over Selina.

It was the airship.

Unit 707’s airship belonged solely to Viscount Lemming, and he was the only one who could manage and control it.

Even deciding which direction the airship’s cannon would point was Viscount Lemming’s authority, and pressing the firing button also depended on his will.

KABOOM!

A thunderous roar, like a lightning strike, erupted.

The cannon spewed fire, and the shell, flying straight towards Selina, caused a massive explosion.

I wasn’t unscathed either.

Though I wasn’t directly caught in the scorching blaze, the aftermath threw my body into the air.

“Ah… damn it.”

My body bounced much higher than I expected.

The one saving grace was that the Golden Restraint Selina had cast was broken.

I turned my head to confirm my landing spot and attempted a breakfall.

I could only hope that the Taekwondo I took as a child, forced upon me by my parents, would be of some help, however little.

“AAAHHH!”

Tears streamed down my face from the terrible pain.

Had my arm broken from the impact of the fall, or was it dislocated?

My left arm was bent at an odd angle.

I didn’t want to move a single finger, but I still had to get up.

Because it wasn’t over yet.

“KEH-HEK! KEH-KEH!”

Beyond the dense dust, flames, and pitch-black smoke, a coughing sound was heard.

It was too low and rough to be Selina’s.

Lilisa and Adam were outside the explosion’s range, so the owner of this cough was definitely Viscount Lemming.

I dragged my feet, forcing myself to follow the sound.

Hearing my feet dragging on the ground, the coughing stopped abruptly.

But it was too late.

A few more steps forward, and I was barely able to identify my opponent.

Viscount Lemming.

He was sitting on the ground, staring in this direction.

“D-don’t come! Don’t come near me!”

He, too, had been freed from the Golden Restraint.

It was likely that her concentration was disrupted by the impact from outside, rather than Selina’s will, and as a result, the magic was dispelled.

In the current situation, nothing was restraining Viscount Lemming anymore.

Nevertheless, he didn't use magic on me.

There was only one reason.

He had no magic power left.

“Viscount Lemming.”

“S-stop! Don’t come near me!”

“I didn’t even wish for an excellent commander whom everyone could respect.

Impeccable? Where in the world is such a person? I didn’t even hope for that.

We would have gotten along quite well if you had just been average.”

“Shut up! I am a noble. My birth is different from yours! Know your place and bow your head!”

“You should have known when to stop being greedy.”

I raised my sword high.

I hadn’t noticed, but half of it had been cleanly cut off by the previous explosion, making it quite unsightly.

However, it was more than enough to cut off Viscount Lemming’s breath.

The wind blew.

The thick dust and smoke that had settled around us were carried away by the wind.

“D-dieeeeee!”

Viscount Lemming squeezed his eyes shut and shouted.

But that was all.

Despite yelling for me to die, nothing happened.

Viscount Lemming slowly opened his eyes, flustered, and stared in the direction of the airship.

“What? Why not! What are the crew doing! Fire the cannon and kill this guy right now!”

“Viscount Lemming. Do you know something?”

“Die! Die! Just die!”

“When an airship’s engine is destroyed, it spreads a special wave within a 100-meter radius. That wave temporarily shuts down the engines of perfectly functioning airships. As an airship otaku, you would know that, right? Your crew is probably busy re-igniting the stopped engine right now.”

“……”

Viscount Lemming’s wide eyes shook violently.

His head snapped back.

The engine room of the crashed airship, due to the fierce battle between me and Viscount Lemming, had its walls and ceiling torn off, making the interior clearly visible.

The engine was located in the center.

Lilisa, with an anxious look on her face, had plunged a dagger into it and was staring in this direction.

Her face showed uncertainty about whether she had handled the task properly.

When I smiled and nodded, a smile finally returned to Lilisa’s lips.

“Is your struggle over?”

“……”

Viscount Lemming silently brought his knees together.

And bowed his head.

“…Save me. I… I… I was all wrong. I’ll reflect… Please…”

“For a last will, it’s quite ugly.”

The sword, swung with all my remaining strength, plunged into Viscount Lemming’s glabella.

His final scream was as utterly ugly as his last words.

***

When I opened my eyes, I saw the ceiling of the infirmary I remembered.

Why did the ceiling of this worn-out infirmary stick in my memory?

Slowly tracing back my recollections, I managed to remember that it was the hospital where I had first woken up when I was dragged into this world.

I tried to get up, but my body wouldn’t obey.

Instead, pain surged through my entire body.

“…How many days will it take to be discharged?”

“A few days won’t be enough, will it?”

I hadn’t asked for an answer, but a familiar voice spoke.

Adam was sitting in a chair in the corner of the room.

His leg was wrapped in a plaster cast, and he was tidying his disheveled hair, as if he had just woken up.

“Four weeks of recovery. The doctor was amazed, saying a normal person would have died.”

Looking away from Adam, who was groggily waking up, I saw Lilisa sleeping with her head on the desk.

“Lirisa waited for you to wake up all night and just fell asleep. So don’t be too upset… Oh, drink this.”

Adam pushed a red liquid, which had been on the shelf, towards me.

Upon inspection.

I realized it was a military-grade medium healing potion.

“They say you can be discharged tomorrow immediately after drinking this. This healing potion seems to be worth its expensive price, seeing as it’s letting you leave right after a four-week injury.”

“Who would buy it for a high price if it wasn’t even effective?”

“Right, you’re right.”

I drank the medicine.

It had a terrible taste that assaulted my tongue.

Forcing the liquid, which tried to come back up, down my esophagus, and wiping my mouth, I asked Edham, who was yawning widely, the question I had held back.

“…What happened while I was unconscious?”

“Hmm… First, congratulations, Ryan. You woke up in three days.”

With a light jest, Adam explained what had happened during the three days I was unconscious.

First.

Apparently, Selina had sent a distress signal just before intervening in my and Viscount Lemming’s fight, because an airship sent by the Verdin family arrived on the scene not long after the battle ended.

Thanks to that, we were rescued and were now safely receiving treatment in the rear.

Surprisingly, there was no punishment for me, who had killed Viscount Lemming.

The reason was Selina.

For some reason, the story had been distorted into: Selina pointed out Viscount Lemming’s illegal activities, a battle ensued, and I, who intervened during the process, delivered the finishing blow to Viscount Lemming.

As he told this story, Adam gave me a thumbs-up and a wink.

It seemed that his mouth had written quite a novel.

Whatever it was, I was glad things had turned out better than expected.

“Adam. I have a question.”

“What is it?”

“What happened to Selina?”

Selina was directly hit by the airship’s main cannon.

No matter that she was a magician, she couldn’t have been perfectly fine after that.

If she had been unlucky, she might have died instantly.

The image of her helping me with my personal training, and silently leaving healing potions by my bedside, remained etched in my mind.

“Anya… No. I mean, Lady Selina…”

Adam’s voice trailed off, and he smiled bitterly.