As someone who’s smashed countless skulls with a hammer, I can tell you there’s one thing that always shows up when you hit someone with one.

No, to be precise, there’s a certain expression.

“Huh?”

Did I just get hit?

“Huh?”

Why can’t I feel my body?

“...Huh?”

Am I... dying like this...?

Like that.

Meaninglessly...?

Krajak-!!!

Most people hit in the head with a hammer have this kind of look in their eyes, confused about whether the moment is real or not.

Krajak-!!

Even while seeing their head getting smashed in real time, they just can’t fully grasp it.

Well, this guy would be even more like that.

He didn’t get hit during a fight, after all.

[If that were the case? Would I harm you? Someone like you with so much to lose?]

He even had this strange conviction.

So right now, his head getting smashed probably felt even less real.

But then...

“St-stop! What are you doing?!”

This is Raphdonia.

“Baron Yandel is causing a disturbance!!”

A harsh world where a single mistake means death.

Yeah, so...

Krajak-!

Mistakes have consequences, right?

“B-block him!!”

Ignoring the knights trying to restrain me, I kept pounding his head with the hammer.

Krajak-! Krajak-!

Orculis members’ eyes went wide, and even our search team’s faces turned pale as I kept going.

Krajak, krajak, krajak-!

I hammered again and again, as carefully as someone testing a stone bridge before crossing.

And then...

“...”

No more faint screams, only a squelching sound like mud being mashed.

Krajak!

Feeling the familiar texture through my fingertips, I backed off from the hands of soldiers who were trying to stop me.

“Baron... what on earth are you doing?”

The King’s Knight rushed to me without even checking the deputy chief’s condition, his face complicated.

From countless experiences, he immediately knew.

If someone’s head is smashed that badly, there’s no chance of survival, even if a cardinal is right there.

“Killing the most valuable prisoner without any procedure can be interpreted as treason, depending on one’s point of view.”

“Ah, sorry. I got too excited because he insulted me suddenly.”

“An insult...?”

“He sneered at me and called me a coward.”

“Is that true?”

The King’s Knight checked with the nearby knight after hearing my excuse.

The knight hesitated, then told the truth honestly.

“He never called you a coward. He just said you were more rational than you looked—”

Okay, that’s enough.

“Isn’t that just a polite way of calling someone a coward!!”

I cut off the knight’s statement with an outburst, and the King’s Knight grabbed his forehead.

“...Enough. The reason doesn’t matter.”

“Oh, so you’re going to let it slide?”

“I’m not letting it slide. But as I said, responsibility must be taken. The angry Marquis will surely hold you accountable for this ‘mistake’ of yours.”

The King’s Knight looked more worried that the Marquis might harm me than wanting to blame me for what I did.

In fact, he seemed to like me a little more.

“But one thing is clear.”

“...?”

“Honestly, I was worried because you’re from another race, but there’s no doubt about your patriotism.”

Oh, so he thought I was doing it for the country?

I don’t know, but I do know one thing for sure.

“Though the Marquis rules and shakes the country, I’ll try to do my best. Don’t worry too much. It’s loyal subjects like you who keep this country standing.”

The King’s Knight didn’t like the Marquis who was effectively acting as regent.

‘...Got a strong backer from an unexpected place.’

Maybe today’s incident would end without too much trouble after all.

As I was brushing blood and flesh off the hammer, that moment—

“C-commander!”

A knight who was gathering the corpse hurried over with shocking news.

“H-he’s alive!!”

“...Huh?”

“Maan, Banonzant are still alive!”

No, this is crazy.

“Really?!”

...Alive?

Sometimes in the media you see it happen.

Just when you think someone’s finished, the one you thought dead stands up, stronger than before, and starts round two.

Of course, this was nothing like that.

“...Keh, kehhk.”

Instead of charging stronger, he was coughing blood and rolling on the floor like someone barely alive.

No second round coming.

Only the King’s Knight stood in front of me, worried he might cause more trouble.

“That’s enough.”

“...”

“If you take one step forward, I’ll cut you down. For your own good.”

Phew... what to do now?

While hesitating, the knights, signaled by the King’s Knight, quickly loaded the deputy chief onto a carriage and left.

Too slow to follow in this clumsy state.

‘...Damn.’

I gave up cleanly.

Yeah, I did all I could.

If he’s alive after taking that beating, it’s not my fault but the enemy’s skill.

That’s the right way to think.

But there was one thing I was curious about.

“...How the hell did he survive?”

“I’ll let you know after the investigation. For now, stay here and calm down before returning to headquarters. I’ll inform the Marquis.”

Yeah, even the King’s Knight didn’t know.

How the deputy chief survived.

Probably some item or essence.

‘He said he’d tell me later, so I’ll wait for that.’

“I hope you’ll be calmer next time we meet.”

With that, the King’s Knight left.

Afterward, I cleared my head in the Marquis’s garden and then checked the refuge where the Noarque had been hiding once more.

‘So this is what the layout was like.’

If the secret library was for work, this place was literally a refuge.

You know what I mean?

Like those ‘panic rooms’ built into foreign houses to prepare for break-ins.

‘Nothing special...’

After a quick look, I told the soldiers to finish the investigation and headed out with my team toward the palace.

And then...

“The Supreme Commander is calling you.”

As expected, I was summoned by the Marquis as soon as I arrived.

“Everyone else leave.”

“But...”

“It’s fine. Don’t make me say it twice.”

“Understood.”

After sending all the guards outside, the Marquis created a private meeting.

He glared at me for a moment and then spoke.

“So... you really found them while searching our family estate?”

“Luck was on my side.”

Though 100% truthful, the Marquis didn’t seem convinced.

“Where did you get the information? Was the corpse collector really your informant?”

“That was just to buy time.”

Again, I told the truth, but the Marquis didn’t even listen. He just stared at me, trying to guess which part was true.

Why ask if he wasn’t going to believe me?

A waste of breath.

“Enough. Now keep your promise.”

No time for pointless back-and-forth, I cut straight to the point.

“You found all the Noarque hiding in the city, including the deputy chief of Orculis. Isn’t that exceeding the mission?”

“You mean Maan, the one you tried to kill unexpectedly?”

“An accident.”

“Hmm, that looks like a planned accident. Like needing to ‘silence’ someone...”

If he went that way, I couldn’t stay silent.

Though not the best tank, the best defense is offense.

“Well then, if that’s so, who looks more suspicious? You or me?”

“...?”

“More suspicious is you, who hid the Noarque special unit in the family estate, rather than me, who smashed the deputy chief’s head.”

Honestly, this wasn’t just made up to attack, but something I really found suspicious.

At first, I thought the Noarque had sneaked into the Marquis’s family without his knowledge...

[Fine. We surrender.]

No matter how you think about it, that response couldn’t come without someone powerful backing it inside the royal family.

And the most likely candidate was this guy.

“...I didn’t hide them.”

“Then what happened to those captured?”

“They’re locked in the royal underground prison. Intense interrogations by intelligence agents will start soon.”

“Hmm... I see...”

I stopped the topic there and [N O V E L I G H T] returned to what we were talking about before.

“Anyway, you kept your promise. Now send me to Sector 7.”

“...That’s impossible.”

“Why?”

“Don’t misunderstand. It’s not that we won’t let you go at all.”

“Then explain it properly so I understand.”

“You searched our family without permission? We can overlook that because of the result. But trying to kill a valuable prisoner in front of everyone is different.”

Simply put, good deeds don’t erase mistakes.

“So say it plainly. What do you want to do?”

“Considering Sir Karitumore’s words, I won’t ask for much. Think of it as discipline to maintain order—just two days, exactly two days.”

When I asked about the discipline, the Marquis said it was ‘detention.’

But I’d be locked in a noble’s prison in the royal underground first floor, much better than a normal inn, so I could think of it as a rest.

The environment didn’t matter much.

What mattered was time.

And more important than that was this Marquis’s intent.

“Two days...”

Ha, what to do?

If this guy doesn’t approve, I’ll never get back to Sector 7.

“This is my final offer. No compromise. Even if you desert.”

The only legal way to get to Sector 7.

After considering, I made a decision.

If I deserted now or disobeyed discipline, things would only get worse.

They even said I wouldn’t have to wear shackles.

If something went wrong, I’d just smash the bars and get out.

Yeah, so...

“Two days. Exactly two days.”

“...Good choice.”

Let’s watch and wait.

‘The Marquis is a really suspicious bastard.’

I have no intention of letting things go his way.