2
Central base.
When Iska first disembarked from the helicopter, he saw nothing unusual about the base.
It hadn’t been destroyed, burned down, or damaged at all… He didn’t see anything wrong with it externally. The outer wall was as good as pristine. The lawn and maneuvering grounds looked vibrant, and some flowers even bloomed in the nooks of the base.
What was different, however, was that the inside was practically deserted.
“They’re busy with transporting and taking care of the comatose patients. The ones who aren’t tied down are busy with communications and meetings. Anyone wandering outside the base is either shirking their duties or a Sovereign spy. Regardless of which they are, we’ll need to capture them quickly.”
“Is this really what it’s come to…?”
Risya walked right onto the grounds. Iska walked next to her, studying their surroundings as he went. Normally, military cars would be driving busily along the roads, but even those were empty, as well as the sidewalks.
“We’re in quite a bit of trouble, considering the Eight Great Apostles were also taken out.”
Risya gave a forced smile.
“They say fight fire with fire, right? Well, those villains were keeping others in line through fear. Now that the Eight Great Apostles are gone, the ambitious people in the assembly and criminals will probably go on the move. That might affect peace in the capital for a while.”
“Risya, what does that mean…?”
“Hmm?”
“Think of the worst-case scenario, if the Nebulis Sovereignty attempts to lead a giant battle against us right now.”
“Well, then we’d be in a huge emergency. Even if they didn’t manage to bring down the capital, they might still grab some of the other major cities.”
That was no exaggeration, either. The upper echelons of the Empire were in shambles. With how many casualties the Imperial forces already had, they needed to avoid a battle with the Sovereignty.
“Isk, you probably have already guessed, but that’s part of the reason why the Lord wanted the witch sisters to stay here in the capital.”
“They probably understand that, too…”
Alice and Sisbell were both princesses. In other words, the Sovereignty wouldn’t be able to make any thoughtless moves while they were here.
“They’re kind of dangerous hostages, all things considered…”
“That’s why I’m leaving them in your care, Isk.”
Risya walked onto the grass.
“We really should have three Saint Disciples guarding those two princesses, but they currently have their hands full helping headquarters reestablish chain of command. And the first seat decided to disappear on us. Figuring out what to do with the empty first seat was already an urgent issue. So anyway!”
Risya suddenly stopped.
She pointed at the Lord’s office.
“The three witches are in the Lord’s office, so keep an eye on them, Isk!”
“The Lord’s office? Wouldn’t it be bad if they went on a rampage there…?”
“Is there anywhere else we could hide them? If anyone finds out the Imperial forces took in witches from the Nebulis Sovereignty, it’d be a big deal.”
“Well, you have a point…”
“So c’mon, go and keep them reined in to make sure they don’t cause a ruckus.”
She makes it sound so easy. Iska grumbled and sighed, then turned away from Risya.
It was often called the “windowless building.” That was the Lord’s office where Lord Yunmelngen lived as a recluse. They were at the entrance where they were meant to meet.
“Looks like the four of us are being transferred to Special Division I.”
“Huh?” When that was the first thing Jhin said, Iska couldn’t help but question it. “Jhin, say that again.”
“As of this afternoon, Special Division III Unit 907 has been reassigned to Special Division I. If we stayed in Division III and kept coming in and out of the Lord’s office, our colleagues would think something’s up.”
“…”
“Did Ms. Saint Disciple not tell you? She proposed it.”
“She didn’t mention a thing about it.”
Ha-ha. He let out a strained laugh before he realized it.
……I don’t think she just forgot to tell me, either.
……She probably didn’t say anything because she wanted it to come as a surprise.
Iska’s unit was from Special Division III. They were a reinforcement unit normally deployed to remote regions from the Imperial capital to lend assistance. Their missions in the Nelka Woods and Mudor Canyon were case in point.
Division I, on the other hand, was the equivalent of the Imperial elite’s secret service. Simply put, they were the cream of the crop, even among the elite units.
“And we’re specifically the Lord’s guard unit in Division I. That means we report to the Saint Disciples, not headquarters. We’ll be able to enter the Lord’s office freely this way.”
“So Risya is our commanding officer?”
“That’s right. It’s basically getting a promotion in the Imperial forces, which is a surprise, to say the least. We weren’t looking to get promoted, though.”
Jhin brought their identification up to the door. With a blip, the door swung open to the Lord’s office, which was unbelievable to watch already. This door couldn’t be opened by anyone in Division III.
It seemed they were already officially in Division I.
“Is the commander inside?”
“She’s at Imperial headquarters. She’s gotta finish our transfer process in the next three hours, so Nene went with her to help, since she can’t do it alone.”
“Oh, so that’s why the two of them aren’t with you.”
“So we just need to hang tight for two more hours. We’re supposed to wait inside.”
They headed into the Lord’s office. They’d been in this building just hours before, but the circumstances were now different, and they were no longer Risya’s guests. Now, they were here officially as the Lord’s guards.
The hallway was deserted. No matter how far he looked down the several dozen meters of the hallway, he saw no one else walking around.
Clack…clack…
Only Iska’s and Jhin’s shoes echoed in the space. They didn’t see any guards or office workers.
Or so they thought.
“Oh? I recognize you.”
In the middle of the hall, they found a rather feral-looking female soldier sitting cross-legged. She was the Saint Disciple of the third seat, the Incessant Tempest, Mei. When Iska had once been the lowest seat of the Saint Disciples, she’d been his coworker.
“Mei, um, it’s been a while.”
“Say, Isk…”
When she looked at him, she sighed heavily. She seemed very dispirited.
“Kinda boring not having a rivalry going, am I right?”
“Excuse me?”
“Here’s the report: I’m guarding the Lord’s office with the second seat, and Risya is also in command. And you’re going to be working for us…haaah…”
“Where’s the second seat?”
“On standby outside the Lord’s office. He hates witches more than I do. I know there were reasons for bringing them in, but he just wants to pummel them when he sees their faces. So he’s been stationed outside under the Lord’s orders. I’m on duty guarding the inside…haaah…”
He had to wonder how many times she’d already sighed.
“I’m really down in the dumps right now, though. Isk, this isn’t your first time here, right? We’ll skip the tour, then. Just head straight in.”
“All right…”
Mei stayed seated and didn’t so much as turn around. He continued down the glass skywalk ahead.
They were on the top floor of the four buildings, which was called the Heaven of Insight and Nonsight. When he set foot in that place, the pungent and strong scent of grass tickled his nose. They were in the Lord’s chambers. The moment he took a step into the large hall, which was mostly red…
“Hey, Lord! What’s the meaning of this?!” He heard Rin’s voice echo all around. “You were the one who said the fourth-floor office would be converted into a bedroom for Lady Alice and Lady Sisbell!”
“That’s right. And I said I’d leave everything to you as the one responsible for their accommodations.” The Lord, who was lying on the floor, opened their eyes and appeared annoyed. “You saw during the afternoon battle, didn’t you? I’m feeling terrible, so let me sleep.”
“The closet I ordered for Lady Alice has yet to arrive!”
“It’s being arranged for now.” Then the Lord let out a large yawn. “Do you understand? If you do, let me sleep…”
“Lord! Lord! Where are my stuffed animals?!” Sisbell shouted.
She ran over to the silver-furred beastperson before they could close their eyes.
“I can’t sleep without a stuffed animal. May I order one?!”
“Do what you like…”
“And a carpet and sofa as well?!”
“I’m going to sleep…”
“Oh! Hey, wait! I haven’t finished yet!”
The beastperson curled up and went to sleep. As Jhin watched Sisbell shake the beastperson’s shoulder, he murmured, “She’s like a kid messing with her pet.” Iska happened to fully agree.
“So what now, Iska?”
“What do you mean?”
“We need to keep an eye on those three. Looks like two of them are here, but where’s the third one? What should we do about her? It doesn’t seem like she’d do anything bad just because she doesn’t have a guard on her, though.”
“It’s Princess Aliceliese; she’s probably fine.”
He’d almost called her Alice, but he didn’t reveal to Jhin that he had almost used her nickname.
“But I’ll go find her. I’ll leave Rin and Sisbell with you,” Iska said.
“Are you sure?”
“I don’t think they’ll cause trouble. If anything happens, tell me right away.”
He watched from the corner of his eyes as Rin and Sisbell made a fuss.
Then Iska left the Lord’s chamber.
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