Chapter 24

"What did you just say?"

My heart sank.

It was a name I couldn't and shouldn't forget.

Odin.

Ranked 2nd in the White Hero faction.

The unit I commanded when I was a D&K player, just before I came to this world.

An army that was blindly loyal to me.

To think I would hear that name here, a name that might have become a peaceful sanctuary for me who fought for my life every day.

I couldn't have imagined it.

Odin is the second strongest unit in the White Hero faction.

Naturally, to meet them, who would be active on a field befitting their name and reputation, I would have to wait for a distant future.

That's why hearing that an Odin soldier was active in this vicinity came as a huge shock to me.

"Surprised? I was surprised too. Actually, there was a commotion a while ago because a medium-sized Odin ship went on a rampage in a fierce battlefield. We barely managed to drive them out, but it was belatedly revealed that they had secretly hidden a micro-airship."

Listening to Selina, a question that I had forgotten due to various events bloomed like a flowering flower.

"Selina."

"Yes."

"This is the frontier. So why is Odin still active in this area?"

"I don't know either. I heard they're looking for something. That's why the kingdom is on high alert. That's also why the Alliance's large airship was dispatched. I think dispatching a large airship for a single micro-airship is a bit excessive, but considering the opponent, I'm just letting it be."

"Looking for what?"

My back grew damp.

When I had previously witnessed an Odin escort ship engaged in an aerial battle nearby.

I was so preoccupied with the fact that an Odin escort ship was close by that I missed the most important thing.

I didn't question why an Odin escort ship was engaged in a battle on a frontier battlefield.

Because I didn't have the luxury.

But thinking about it, it's strange.

Should I say it feels like common sense is being twisted?

The Odin I know follows my orders thoroughly.

All the soldiers of the White Hero faction faithfully follow the commander's... that is, the player's words, but that's not absolute.

Sometimes, a mission is handed down from a higher authority... often referred to as the royal family, which is likened to the heavens, and players, including myself, called this a mandatory quest.

It's literally a royal command, so there's no right of refusal.

It's also impossible to postpone it indefinitely.

If you don't proceed with the mandatory quest, the loyalty of your subordinates drops rapidly, and things like insubordination, desertion, and even rebellion can occur.

But whether it's a bug, or if there's a hidden trigger that hasn't been revealed to the player.

The soldiers of Odin didn't have that.

They wouldn't follow, whether it was a mandatory quest or anything else, if I said I didn't want to.

In a word, without my orders, they absolutely, under no circumstances, not even a royal command, will not move.

That is Odin.

Because of that, my evaluation score hit rock bottom, but even that was part of what made Odin, Odin.

And right now, I, the one with the authority to command, am not on Odin's ship.

Therefore, Odin should either be stationary or moving according to my last command.

'What was the last command I gave to Odin?'

I clearly remember logging into the game after a long time, greeting my soldiers, and giving three commands.

One was a personnel check.

Since they were the 2nd ranked unit in the White Hero faction, the Alliance tried to bring down Odin in various ways besides direct confrontation.

A prime example of this was spies.

Spies mostly hid their identities as crew members, and sometimes as new recruits, and infiltrated Odin's airship.

Since it was an airship with hundreds of personnel, it wasn't noticeable if one or two people were added, so accidents would happen if you didn't habitually check the personnel.

The second command was the activation of the stopped system.

In the early days when the number of personnel to manage was small, I nurtured each soldier with care, but when the number reached hundreds, it became difficult to manage them meticulously due to time constraints.

Therefore, I had established a system where I entrusted the role of recruiting and managing new recruits to a subordinate to select talented individuals.

I remembered reactivating the said system, which Leisia had stopped because I had been away for a long time.

And the last command was....

'Confirmation of the situation at the front line.'

Information is a weapon.

Not logging in for a long time means that I haven't updated the information on the ever-changing front lines, and standing on the battlefield in this state is no different from fighting an enemy without sharpening a rusty weapon.

In other words.

Currently, Odin should be watching the front lines where the top forces of the White Hero faction and the Alliance are clashing from a slight distance and gathering information.

So why is Odin active in Stage 1, a frontier?

A suspicion arose.

The suspicion that the Odin of this world might not be the Odin I know.

If that's the case....

"Ryan!"

I barely came to my senses at the sound of my name being called.

Selina, with a worried expression, was holding both of my hands.

"...I'm sorry."

For some reason, she apologized to me.

I don't know why.

"Sorry?"

"Yes. I mean.... I thought that if it was Ryan. If it was the strong-willed Ryan, it would be okay. I thought you would ask why I hid valuable information if I didn't tell you, so I told you, but..."

"......"

I was a little surprised.

The time Selina and I spent together is not long.

At most, about a week.

Just as you might not know your partner's true nature even after dating for years, only to find out after marriage, it's an infinitely short time to figure out what kind of person someone is.

Nevertheless, Selina had figured out a certain amount about me as a person.

She was right.

If she hadn't told me, I would have been in big trouble.

Information is a weapon.

She had just handed me another weapon I could use; how I received it and how I used it was up to my ability.

If she hadn't told me, I would have been rather disappointed.

That's why, the moment I was about to open my mouth to tell her that she had done nothing wrong.

"I was too short-sighted. Ryan's father died from Odin's shelling.... It's entirely possible that you've developed a trauma towards Odin. I should have thought more deeply..."

"...Huh."

Looking at Selina bowing her head, I couldn't say anything.

Ryan Kaltz's father.

Karsan Kaltz, a hunter from the Balant Kingdom, lost his life saving me.

At the time, I didn't think deeply about it.

I vaguely thought he had been caught up in the war between the White Hero faction and the Alliance and died.

It's common for civilians to be caught up in war and lose their lives.

To think that the identity of the airship that fired that shell was Odin.

I couldn't have imagined it, so I could only blankly repeat the same words.

"Why...?"

I.

Had never given such an order.

Odin never attacks civilians.

This was like a belief I had never changed since I started D&K, and my subordinates, including Leisia, followed my orders thoroughly.

At this point, I thought it was about time I started to admit it.

That the Odin of this world might not be the Odin I know.

* * *

The first mission ended safely.

Unit 917 succeeded in a bloodless entry into Outpost 28.

To be honest, it was so peaceful that it could be seen as a walk to get to know the awkward members rather than a serious operation to achieve a goal.

Of course, the new recruits, for whom this was their first sortie, seemed quite nervous.

Since no fruit was bearing on the trees, we didn't get a magic power bonus.

Selina wasn't disappointed and immediately chose Labias Valley as the second operation area.

Seeing that they were taking the exact same route as Unit 707, it was clear that the Alliance command had a manual.

There was an accident where Latia was bitten by a lizard while hunting, but it didn't lead to the same result as Theo.

The moment she developed a fever, an antidote was administered, and Latia's condition quickly improved.

Just a single supply item.

That's what saved Latia's life.

The number of lizard hearts we secured this time was a total of five.

Two of them were sent to the kingdom according to the national law, and the processing of the three began, and I was told that they would be completed in about 3-4 days.

Perhaps because they had successfully completed two consecutive operations, the new recruits were full of passion and confidence.

And the long-awaited third operation began.

Letia summoned all the members to the meeting room, and there, she distributed the materials she had prepared in advance and began the briefing with a serious expression.

"Everyone, please check the materials I've distributed."

As she said, I checked the materials.

"......"

Naturally, I couldn't read it at all.

I've been studying letters lately, but language is not something you can learn overnight.

At present, all I could do was occasionally have a happy reunion, saying, 'Oh? I saw this letter in a children's book....'

"As you may have noticed, our Alliance and the White Hero faction are competing to secure magic power sources throughout the country, in addition to the battle for territory on the front lines. Magic power is strength. The side that secures more magic power will win the war. Therefore, the next operation is also a place with a magic power source, and unlike before, a fierce battle is expected."

Unlike before.

A fierce battle awaits.

Selina heightened the tension of her subordinates with her bold choice of words.

It was clear that she intended to suppress their heightened confidence to some extent due to the success of the consecutive operations.

Excessive tension when doing something can cause the misfortune of not being able to draw out one's original skills, but on the other hand, excessive confidence can also cause absurd accidents.

Selina's judgment was not bad.

However, things in the world don't always go as planned.

Beeeeep—!

An unplanned noise occurred throughout the meeting room.

This loud noise that naturally made one's brow furrow was coming from the decoration Selina was wearing on her left chest, the insignia symbolizing a commander.

Selina's insignia, decorated with beautiful jewels, was shining with a gaudy red color.

"This is.... an emergency call?"

Having grasped the situation, Selina hurriedly tapped the insignia with her finger.

After a short silence, just long enough to catch one's breath.

Zzzzt—. Booom!

An explosion mixed with static was heard.

Frowning deeply, Selina brought her mouth close to the insignia and shouted.

"This is Selina Verdin, commander of Unit 917."

Once again, static and an explosion were heard.

Just as Selina was about to shout again.

A man's dying voice was heard from the insignia.

[This is.... Cough! Observer James Romman of Unit 450. While escorting an excavation team in the Duesrolf area.... we were attacked by the White Hero faction. The airship crashed. Engine damaged. Commander Leiserad Simoff killed in action. The remaining forces are one knight. 17 regular soldiers. And 7 civilians under protection. Requesting support.]

"What is the scale of the enemy?"

[One micro-airship. 20 regular soldiers. And four heroes.]

"......"

Selina fell silent.

A request for help, consumed by anxiety, continued to come from beyond the insignia.

Selina gave me a look.

There was no way I wouldn't know what that look meant.

Is it possible?

That's what she was asking.

"...Wait a minute."

I also needed time to think.

Duesrolf.

A place that was once a city of the Alliance, but most of it was destroyed and now remains as one of the engagement zones between the White Hero faction and the Alliance.

It wouldn't be a shame at all to give up a destroyed castle where no one lives to the enemy, but the problem is the huge ruins in the castle's basement.

It was a place where relics imbued with magic power were continuously excavated from these ruins, whose creator, time of creation, and reason for creation were still unknown.

For that reason, the Duesrolf area was designated as Stage 1-3 in D&K.

In other words.

It means that it's a place we have to go to anyway.

'Four heroes. If they're all level 1, it should be fine. But if a level 2 is included....'

Hoping to get additional information, I used Dragon's Eye to eavesdrop on the players' chat window.

I think it's about time we move on to Stage 2, is there anyone who can look at my unit's specs!

Come to think of it, did that newbie who started before quit? I haven't seen them in the area chat lately.

I even shared my loot with them....

And so, another one of D&K's few fresh bloods disappears.

Unfortunately, there was no special information to be gained from the chat window.

In the end, it means that I won't know unless I try.

But that doesn't mean that Unit 917, which has the choice, needs to do something as dangerous as physically clashing with the enemy to check their strength.

"In my opinion.... I think it's right to decide whether to enter or retreat after reconnaissance first. It's a sorry thing to say to the isolated Unit 450, but there are four enemy heroes. If even one of them is a level 2 hero, there's a high possibility that Unit 917 will also be in danger."

"I suppose so, right? Then for now, let's focus on reconnaissance and searching for the enemy airship. First..."

[Ah.]

A sudden voice interrupted Selina's words.

[I will report an additional situation. Cough! Currently... among the civilians being protected by Unit 450, there is someone with the blood of the dragon.]

"......"

I bit my lip hard.

Because if I didn't, I felt like a curse would unconsciously come out.

The Alliance serves and follows the strong black dragon and reveres it blindly.

Therefore, there is a custom of wrapping things that are sacred, or objects of worship, with the phrase 'of the dragon' as a sign of the highest respect.

The blood of the dragon.

In other words, the dragon's bloodline.

In this world, those who can dare to call themselves of the dragon's bloodline are extremely limited.

"Royalty.... Someone from the royal family is here?"

Selina's murmur, as if she couldn't believe it, added another heavy brick to my heart.