"It was a trap."
On the day they returned from the dense jungle to the ducal manor, the Duke summoned all the academy students and spoke while biting his lip.
"The totem was just a diversion."
"To think they intended to sap our strength…. Father, what about our side's casualties?"
"Did I not say it was annihilation?"
Bang—!
The Duke slammed his fist on a table that looked expensive at a glance, as if the humiliation he suffered was unbearable.
"Does this make sense? Knights we painstakingly recruited and raised."
"If it were only knights, that would be a blessing. The mages are all dead. The dwarves' renowned warriors as well. Thanks to that, even the High Meisters are in disarray. The only consolation is…."
His gaze suddenly turned toward the Crown Prince.
It didn't stop with that one-eyed brat.
Luciana, Camilla, Theodore….
He swept his eyes once across every academy student present.
'Sure. There may be a clause stating that responsibility for lives will not be pursued during dispatched classes, but that only applies to one or two.'
From counts' houses to ducal families, and even members of the imperial family and a saintess.
If they were all annihilated, the outrage would reach not just powerful families, but even the religious order.
No matter if it was Duke Daimon's house that ruled the south.
The blow would extend not only to society but also commerce.
Of course.
Though young, the students were still nobles, and they understood the meaning hidden in the Duke's words, stiffening their faces.
Even if not all, Luciana Speda was at least an Aura Expert. For her to be considered someone who could still be lost meant the enemies' power was that formidable.
"More than that, I'm curious about the enemy's identity. Even if it were a shaman or a tribal chief, it shouldn't be enough to overwhelm our forces."
"It's the image left behind by the mage at the end, piercing through the shaman's interference."
The enemy who brought ruin to the Duke's knight order.
Their identity was as plain as day.
But.
—Kraaaah!
Standing atop a mountain of corpses, a gray-haired wolf Beastman howled savagely.
The image showed only one enemy.
"…Don't tell me, a single individual defeated all of our forces?"
"From the circumstances, that seems to be the case."
The moment the Duke's words ended, the crystal orb's screen turned into blood spraying into the sky before reverting to its original black glow.
"So, do you know anything about him?"
The Duke's question was not aimed at us.
Behind the academy students.
It was directed at the shaman who was dragged here with magic-restraining shackles on his wrists.
"Khahaha, of course I do! Who wouldn't recognize our great chieftain?"
Even in captivity, the fellow was arrogant.
His attitude sat poorly with me.
"Keugh!"
"If one is straight as bamboo, then breaking comes easy. Shouldn't you recognize your place properly?"
I immediately kicked behind his knee to inject some manners.
"Answer only the Duke's questions."
"Kuuk. You barbaric human! Did I not say it already? The great chieftain!"
"Not that. Didn't you reveal something when we captured you? I'm sure you called him Calamity of the Pack."
Calamity.
Since most of those gathered here were from prominent families, their faces all contorted.
"Saintess, by calamity, could it be…."
"Yes. I couldn't be certain just from hearing this Beastman's words, but after seeing the image left in the orb, I am sure. That evil aura…. It is undoubtedly the calamity from the prophecy."
Prophecy, my ass.
She's just repeating what was in the original story.
I was dumbfounded by Rene's coy but shameless reply.
Come to think of it.
'Didn't she give up back at Luciana's battle? Then that means she doesn't even know the other calamities' identities?'
And that's supposed to be a saintess.
Clicking my tongue lightly so that half-wit saintess wouldn't hear, I continued.
"If it's the Calamity of the Pack, then we're talking about an enemy with power enough to destroy the Manhet Empire. Even the Duke's household's might would not suffice."
And.
If the Calamity of the Pack had struck here instead of there….
That thought circled in my mind.
'They're still just chicks not fully grown.'
Though they would grow into heroes who save the world in the future, right now the only Aura Expert among them was Luciana.
And even she would be insufficient against the Calamity of the Pack. They had narrowly avoided an early failure of the world-saving group project.
Of course.
'One way or another, I would have gotten Luciana and the saintess to escape.'
Even so, just recovering from the loss of talents soon to bloom would be an arduous task.
The more I thought about it, the more irritation boiled up to the top of my head.
After everything I've done so far, a bad ending?
"Khh, indeed! Calamity of the Pack, Lord Fenrir, will soon drive you out, and the Mother Tree will be in our Beastman's hands…. Guhk!"
"Anything further is just noise pollution. Your testimony has already lost its value, so keep your mouth shut."
As I was savoring the sensation in my foot from sinking it into the excellent punching bag's solar plexus—
"Hmm? Why are you all looking at me like that?"
"Hiccup!"
Perhaps it was the memory of the past that came to mind.
Riura let out a faint hiccup.
"…That's the Emperor faction's number two?"
"Truly, it's a relief he's not an enemy."
The conference participants showed reluctant reactions along with that.
"…Well, even the talented are bound to have at least one flaw."
"Flaw? I merely administered the necessary measures to a Beastman who was being disrespectful to the Duke."
Besides, that guy.
Didn't he just mock humans wholesale as barbarians?
Sure, some worms—especially ones like the Crown Prince—did parade around as humans despite low intellect and even lower character.
'But insulting Luciana? That requires paying the price.'
The shaman was a fool who truly believed Fenrir to be an ally, almost rivaling the Crown Prince in blindness.
For such fools, the rod is the cure.
Only this time, the target was his solar plexus, not his groin.
If anything, that was kindly, gentle education.
"…Still, you all carried out your mission splendidly. Not only did you destroy the totem that would have cursed the World Tree, you also identified a threat to the ducal house."
He handed a golden envelope to Luciana.
"…May I ask what this is?"
"A letter stating this was a successful dispatched lesson. It is entrusted to you, who achieved the greatest merit in the mission."
Along with Duke Daimon's meaningful smile, the golden envelope was placed in her hands.
"Damn, again…."
Though there was ugly jealousy toward Luciana, it wasn't as though he could recklessly oppose the Duke without cause.
With a small curse, the one-eyed blue-haired brat reluctantly accepted.
"Now, all of you return. You've done well enough. From here on, we'll handle it in the south. As for the shaman, he'll be interrogated thoroughly on this side."
With the gentle dismissal, the students bowed their heads in farewell and began leaving the conference room one by one.
But even as we exited the chamber, it seemed the Duke couldn't spare even the time to walk to his office.
Or perhaps he had another meeting soon.
Servants and maids standing at both sides brought him a mountain of documents.
"For merchants and nobles alike, there sure is a lot of work."
"Of course. Deliveries, domain management, and checking the troops all need handling."
To the pink-haired young lady who answered my mutter, I nodded and sank into thought.
'At this rate, things will proceed as in the original story.'
Though his forces were lost, the Duke's face only showed the frustration of being struck by Beastman.
There was no sense of crisis to be felt.
To him, troops were consumables replenished through wealth.
It was certainly a painful blow, but not one impossible to recover from.
'That very complacency will soon bring crisis to the south.'
What should I do?
Normally, returning as is would be the right move.
Letting the flow follow the original story would make predicting the future and deciding on actions easier.
But….
I sneaked a glance at the only non-human in this place.
"Hehe…. I wonder if egg tarts will be waiting in my room…."
Though she got excited over something as trivial as egg tarts, Prisia looked utterly happy.
It was a completely different atmosphere than in the original story.
—…Humans? Hmph, after letting calamities run rampant, you shamelessly come to form alliances. I could never entrust my back to cowards hiding in castles.
She hadn't completely hated humans, but she had scorned them and was unwilling to cooperate.
Only when it came to calamities had she displayed such extreme fury that she would even ally with the humans she despised.
And yet.
"Should I ask for some strawberry cake…?"
Her ears perked up high as she fell into fervent contemplation.
Naive, and at times even foolish.
But that appearance suited her better now.
Longing for the outside world? Nostalgic innocence?
Those were things you could only confirm in her diary, back in her dwelling.
She was still an uncolored canvas with many spaces left to be filled.
Her heart, nearly pure white, would one day be charred black in the crisis to come.
'That won't do.'
I had just taken her in as a comrade.
I needed to take her around the Empire, have her help me all the way to the ending.
She couldn't stay behind in the south consumed with vengeance against the calamity that killed her mother.
"Hmm? The discussion is over. You may leave, Hans Byron."
"Ahaha, Duke, won't you continue the conversation from a few days ago?"
With everyone gone from the chamber, I smiled and bowed toward the Duke.
'From a few days ago, he says.'
The Duke looked at the youth before him.
To put it kindly, he was clever.
Unkindly, sly.
Just from his words, it felt like he was reconsidering the Duke's persuasion.
But.
'His loyalty then wasn't false. He only used it as a means to express his opinion.'
No, in this case it was more apt to say it was a means to draw the Duke's attention.
To dare attempt deceit against him.
It was arrogant, yet he still wanted to hear him out.
There was always that one-in-ten-thousand chance.
If Hans truly did come under him, it would compensate for the current troop loss.
"Speak then. After stirring up this much expectation, I trust you won't disappoint by backing out."
"…Ahaha. Compared to me joining the south, this would be far more valuable."
As expected.
Just when Duke Daimon's interest began to cool from the youth's packaging scam—
"What do you make of this incident, Duke?"
"…Well, a regrettable matter. My household's strength has been heavily cut."
He responded blandly, only for Hans Byron to shake his head.
"Do you think it ends with dismissing it as such?"
"…What do you mean?"
"The Calamity of the Pack is a being chosen by the Sacred Land, an existence beyond the heavens. To compare it to a similar level of might, there is Duke Speda whom you know well."
"..."
Perhaps because the comparison was so clear, he was at a loss for words for a moment.
"…Comparable to the Sword Duke?"
Had he not seen it himself during the friendly match in the Imperial Capital?
"Is there no one else?! Come all at once if you must. Warriors of the Manhet Empire! Come forth, all who would learn from the Empire's greatest sword!"
The domineering voice that cut through the sky of the training ground.
In answer, the sky itself was dyed another color by his aura.
That was the first time the Duke had felt fear from the color blue.
A color he had thought only clear and gentle now carried the power to rend heaven and earth.
The first time he thought that even alone, he might defeat an army.
"That's the minimum to assume. He may be even stronger."
"…How is it you know such details when even I, a Duke, do not?"
Normally, information always comes with distortion.
When asked whether what Hans Byron knew was false, he merely shrugged.
"I heard it from an elven village I visited. They too are fighting against the calamities, so they knew quite a bit."
Elves, huh.
Whether it was true or false.
Or how exaggerated, he couldn't know.
This youth, despite his age, was as shrewd and sly as an old political noble.
But it was true that his words sparked a sense of alarm in the Duke.
"I'm curious of your opinion. If you point out the problem, only by also having a solution does it become a true plan. Do you have any sharp countermeasure?"
But still.
Wasn't he too arrogant?
If he had no direction to resolve the issue he himself raised, then it was empty discussion.
That would be enough pretext to punish him severely.
When he sarcastically pointed that out, Hans bowed.
"To deal with a monster, you must bring a monster."
But his sarcasm only highlighted the youth's competence.
Hans had already prepared the solution as well.
"Explain in detail."
"There is someone suited to face the Calamity of the Pack. More outstanding than myself, and thus more fitting to be kept close."
"Divine Archer."
He frowned at the words that left Hans's mouth.
"…Isn't that a guardian of the World Tree you only see in histories?"
"Yes, and I heard of the calamities from her as well."
Grinning, Hans laid out the option.
"Isn't it a splendid idea? Grant access to the World Tree, forge friendly ties with the elves, and use them to oppose the Beastmen."
"…Indeed. Two birds with one stone."
"Exactly."
'He even has ties with the Divine Archer? Remarkable.'
A glint of admiration flickered in the Duke's eyes.
Though his character was somewhat twisted, Hans was undeniably brilliant, a strategist with shining talent.
'What a waste.'
If he couldn't own him, then he'd at least wring him dry while he remained.
"Your suggestion is reasonable. I'll consider it positively."
"Thank you for your wise judgment."
"Then, as the envoy of the human side to the elves, I can send you, can't I?"
"…What?"
Even the thick-skinned had moments of fluster.
The Duke found that amusing and continued.
"We've already brought a High Elf here, and you're acquainted with the Divine Archer. There is no better candidate than you to establish friendly relations with the elves."
Reason was, at times, a weapon that left the other unable to refuse.
And Duke Daimon, seasoned noble that he was, knew this well.
"…Uh, hmm."
"Surely you're not thinking of refusing after making such a proposal to me."
Unaware that his counterpart was the villain who had once taken a child from its mother,
Duke Daimon presented Hans with the choice.
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