| Author: Shizuku | Original Source: Syosetu | Word Count: 3868 characters |
| Translator: Nomad | English Source: Re:Library | Word Count: 2024 words |
| Editor(s): Robinxen | ||
The republic of Berlomot began oppressing demihumans, causing a flood of demihuman refugees into the neighboring countries, including the kingdom of Lincumion, which sent Fort Veres into turmoil, as they watched over the border with Berlomot.
At first Fort Veres refused to let the refugees in, but as they set up camp around the fort, their destroying lives at full display, the fort opened its doors to them. The issues seemed never ending even after that, as the refugees were so numerous that it was impossible to properly house and feed all of them.
The warden of the fort, Viscount Sergio Stribor, had been reincarnated from another world and still held memories of that past life. Thanks to that, he became known as a child prodigy, and through many achievements raised his family’s position, becoming a noble. But even he struggled when dealing with so many refugees.
One day, he stayed up late in his office working on his government affairs, when a knock on the door interrupted him. Without waiting for permission, the door opened and a man Sergio did not recognize entered the office.
“Who are you?”
“Nice to meet you. To put it simply, I’m here to kill you.”
Itski, wearing a white hat and coat, announced that nonchalantly.
“…The fort is heavily armed. I would’ve noticed if we were under siege.”
“Siege? There’s nothing of that sort. I’m the only one inside the fort now.”
“Ahahahah, only you?! Are you stupid? What do you think you can accomplish alone?”
The fort had been built to protect the border. They were a bit overwhelmed with refugees, but that had no bearing on the tight night watch, all the reserve troops, and the bodyguards in hidden rooms adjacent to the office.
A single man who looked hardly armed would never be able to get far.
“Intruder! Catch him!”
That call alone should have been enough for the bodyguards to come out rushing and apprehend the man, but for some reason no one came, even though they should have been aware of everything that was happening in the office.
“…”
Realizing no one was coming, Sergio stood up and rushed to a door. That meant he was turning his back on the intruder, but he had no other way to defend himself. Itski did not seem too pressed to chase after him either.
“Wh..at…”
Sergio was stunned the moment he saw what was in the hidden room beyond the door.
The floor was covered in copious amounts of blood, with severed limbs scattered about, and obviously enough, not a single living soul.
“What do you think you can accomplish alone?”
Itski repeated Sergio’s earlier words. There were only two reasons why someone would storm a fort alone, either they were an idiot, or they were incredibly powerful. Sergio had never imagined that Itski was the latter.
“It’ll be far less painful if you just stay still.” Saying that, Itski took out a gun from his pocket and pointed it at Sergio.
“Ah, ghahhhhhhhh!”
It was like Sergio forgot about appearances and honor, shrieking wildly as he ran away. On the way he pushed aside a pile of books from a table, mostly out of desperation, but that was enough to obscure Itski’s vision, and when he shot, the bullet missed its mark and burrowed itself in the wall.
He ran out to the corridor in a frenzied dash. The same sight as the hidden room greeted him there, and he had to make an effort not to throw up. If he stopped there, he knew he would join their fate.
He spotted the new recruit he greeted that morning, the general he always relied on, the friendly veteran soldier, and the maids who were serving him at all times. People he had interacted with earlier that day, and now they were all dead. Those who had been shot looked bad enough, but others had bizarre wounds, like chunks of them had been gouged out with clean cuts.
But at this point he could hardly afford to feel any sympathy for them, as everything had been taken over by fear for his own life, pushing him to run past everything.
Then again, the fort had been built with security in mind, so just going outside involved going through a lot of winding corridors, which obstructed Itski’s line of fire and kept Sergio alive.
After what felt like an eternity of being chased, even though it only was a few minutes, he arrived at the exit.
He was sure that if he got out, he would manage to save his life. But when he opened the door, he saw a large battalion waving a banner while massacring the soldiers and refugees nearby. Seeing that, Sergio froze in place.
A woman wearing armor noticed him, and turned around, a sword drenched in blood in one hand, and the severed head of a soldier in the other.
“What, having trouble there?”
“Sorry, I was having a bit too much fun.”
The response came from right behind Sergio.
“Hieee!” That startled Sergio, making him trip and land on his rear, while Itski stared at him coldly.
“I’m sorry, did I say I was alone? I only meant inside the fort. Then again, I don’t know why you’d ever trust someone who wants to kill you.”
It was true that Itski was the only one who went inside the fort. But outside Leontina and the third knight order she led were killing all the refugees and soldiers. Itski had not lied, but the truth was also different from what Sergio expected. Then again, he was right, one should never trust the enemy’s words.
Sergio was shaking with fear, but he still forced himself to speak.
“You…you came from Granleuche?! Are you trying to cause an international issue? This is an act of war!”
Their armor and banners were clearly those of the Sacred Empire of Granleuche.
There were various countries in the way between Lincumion and Granleuche, so it was strange for that army to be there, especially considering Lincumion’s independence from other countries like Seperion.
While small, they were still their own country.
“A group of terrorists escaped the republic of Berlomot and disguised themselves as refugees. As the republic didn’t have the necessary resources to capture them, their allies in Sacred Granleuche offered to go in pursuit. When asked, cooperators in Lincumion pointed at Viscount Stribor as being compromised.”
“Huh?”
“After a careful investigation it was found out that the terrorists were being harbored in Fort Veres. After refusing to hand over the terrorists, there was no option left but to use force… That’s pretty much the plot we’ll follow.”
“What are you…saying…” Sergio could not understand what Leontina was saying.
“Look, the other nobles don’t really like you. Though I guess that makes sense considering you took this land from them.”
Sergio had always believed that it was his own efforts and talents that made him lord of that territory, which he also worked hard to make flourish. But the other nobles felt like he had defiled their traditions and stolen a title for himself while being unworthy of it. Then again, Sergio had prioritized forming ties with more important people like the king and nobles of the capital, rather than his neighbors. He was not born a noble, but was put in the position of one.
And as a result, the other nobles sold him off.
“Just…spare me! We’ve both reincarnated here, haven’t we?!” Sergio had noticed the gun Itski held, which was not a weapon of this world, so he surmised that Itski had also been reincarnated here.
Meanwhile Itski had also noticed that about Sergio, as he had instantly become fearful of the gun, and knew how it worked.
But…
“Listen pal, it doesn’t matter if it’s this world or another one, there’s always war between people. There’s nothing more to it.” Itski instantly shot down that last attempt by Sergio.
People would always find reasons to fight and make war, even in their previous world. There was almost always at least one place in the world actively embroiled in war, so Itski failed to comprehend why being from the same world had anything to do with letting Sergio live. He almost seemed baffled that Sergio would suggest something like that.
“I mean, don’t get me wrong, it’s sad that you have to die, but it’s really up to luck whether your enemies and allies live or die. Eventually it’s your turn that’s it. Your luck was bad today, so just give up.”
Itski held out his palm toward Sergio as he said that. Realizing that there was no option left, Sergio tried to escape again, which messed Itski’s aim and his magic only made Sergio’s legs vanish.
“Gh…aaaaaahhhhh!”
“I was really trying to make it painless, but you just had to move and mess things up.”
“Itski, might as well use him as an example of what happens to those who resist, since there’s still a few stubborn men out there.”
“As you wish.”
Itski held out his palm again, and this time it was Sergio’s arms that vanished.
Sergio was assaulted by an agonizing pain, but without any limbs, the most he could was wriggle around pitifully, until the pain was too much and he lost consciousness.
“Let’s get going then.”
Grabbing onto Sergio’s hair and dragging his mutilated body, Itski followed Leontina.
The fort and its surroundings were covered in dead bodies from soldiers and refugees, and soon Sergio would be joining them in that fate.
As he walked, Itski’s own words echoed in his head.
It’s really up to luck whether your enemies and allies live or die.
Sergio had bad luck. He had the wrong position in the wrong location at the wrong time. If his life had panned out slightly differently, he would not have had to die. But that also went for Itski himself.
He was Leontina’s partner, both at work and romantically, but if someone else had found him when he reincarnated, he could very easily have ended up on the opposite side of the conflict, leading to them killing each other.
It was not hard to end up thinking like that. After all, that could have been a very real possibility considering her personality. But those were mere possibilities, the present was more important.
Now he knew her true disposition, but he remained by her side. Maybe he was twisted as well.
Leontina held her hands together and prayed to her God. At that moment she looked breathtakingly beautiful, illuminated by the light of torches. It was almost like seeing a female knight taken right out of a fairy tale.
“O all-mighty God of Light Branses. May this world be cleansed once more.”
She was highly regarded in her home country of Sacred Granleuche, even amongst all the knights there, as she was especially dedicated to eradicating the foul presence of tainted species created by the twisted and evil Nowarel.
That was how everyone saw her, a beautiful woman who courageously risked her life to serve her God.
“Heh…heheheheh.”
But now that she was alone, Leontina’s true nature began to manifest itself. Her lips contorted with delight, laughing maniacally in a way no one would ever expect from her.
“Ahh, I love this. I can’t get enough of it!”
Her religion gave her a righteous reason to go on murdering sprees. No one would ever question her brutality if she targeted heretics and outcasts. And she seeked the thrill of slaughter.
That was what drove her to learn how to use a sword and magic. Her loyalty to her country, her duties as the commander of the third knight order, and her fealty to the Bran Church were all covers for her true desires, tools for her to bathe in blood.
“O God, I thank you for granting me these hunting grounds.”
Her prayers were only a mockery, but once she had managed to regain her composure to appear as a knight, she headed back to satiate her bloodlust just a little bit more1.
