Chapter 173: The Royal Shadows

After we finished speaking with Ao, Gar, Beret, and Tamei were acting strangely.

They hadn’t eaten breakfast, so I had them sit down and settle themselves while I explained everything that had happened.

I didn’t know whether I had the right to reveal the matters of independence or the new race, so I began by warning them that I would tell them only what I was permitted to share.

Mother watched us from a short distance away with a fond smile. Ashera and El also seemed to have no intention of interrupting.

Apparently, all three had been assigned to Blue Ring’s defense during the goblin incident.

They had watched me since I was small and knew I was strong, yet the fact that I’d used Condense Ray and defeated the Goblin Emperor had never quite sat right with them.

Could a person truly become that strong so quickly?

For that very reason, the revelation that I had become an Apostle made everything fall into place.

“…And that’s how El and I became Apostles. The spirit you just saw is ours. His name is Ao.”

“A spirit’s envoy… The creation myth…”

“Yes.”

“Should I kneel?”

“Please don’t. I’m still me—no one else.”

“Hah. Fine. Then I’ll keep being myself too.”

“Please do. What about you two? Are you afraid of me?”

“No, it’s just… I don’t know what to say. I’m shocked.”

“I was shocked at first too… But that power was what let me protect Blue Ring.”

“I see… Even after gaining that power, you haven’t changed, Lord Aldo.”

“Really, it gave me far more duties than blessings. I’m barely managing the work in front of me each day.”

“Ha-ha! Even an Apostle complains?”

“Constantly. El and Ashera are always helping me.”

“In that case, I suppose I’ll help His Apostleship too.”

“I’m counting on you, Tamei.”

“And… does this mean history books will someday record my name as the Apostle’s Cupid of Love?”

“If you’re the one who spreads that story, perhaps they will…”

Tamei saw the vein bulging on my forehead and shrugged.

“I’ll refrain. At most, I’ll write it in my diary.”

This time, it was my turn to shrug.

“What about you, Beret? Are you afraid of me?”

“I-I was Lord Aldo’s knight then, and I remain Lord Aldo’s knight now. Becoming an Apostle changes nothing.”

“Shouldn’t you say you serve Blue Ring, rather than me?”

“I! I have considered myself your knight ever since the day I taught you the dagger and you called me ‘Master’!”

“I see… Thank you, Beret.”

“Your words honor me…”

That was everything I could reveal for now.

“I’ve told you all I’m permitted to tell. There truly are things I can’t reveal because I don’t have the authority to decide, but I want your support.”

“Yes!”

“Understood.”

“If it’s something I can do, I’ll do it.”

“Thank you…”

Our break ended, and the carriage resumed its journey toward the Sandra domain.

Incidentally, we began wearing our masks from that point onward.

Near midday, the city of Sandra came into view.

“So that’s Sandra…”

Unlike Blue Ring, which stood in the middle of open grassland, Sandra lay between a sheer cliff on one side and a great river on the other—a natural fortress.

Looking at it, I could clearly see that, unlike Blue Ring, Sandra had been founded in wartime.

There was a cliff to the north and a river to the west, leaving gates only to the south and east. The western side appeared to have a boat-only entrance.

We joined the line at the largest gate, the southern one.

We looked like a mixed band of knights and adventurers, all wearing black masks. Rumors spread immediately, and a guard approached to see what was happening.

“W-what business do you have in Sandra?”

He was obviously on guard—and understandably so. If such a suspicious group appeared at Blue Ring, even I might fire a Condense Ray at them.

But I drew the dagger the king had given us from my breast like Lord Mito displaying his crest. Heh-heh-heh. Now prostrate yourself before me.

“W-what’s with that hideous dagger? Are you going to draw it?”

H-hey! The king gave me this dagger! Hideous…? I thought so too, but at least I had the decency not to say it aloud!

As I floundered, Gar stepped forward.

“We are the Royal Shadows. Count Sandra appealed to the king over his domain’s plight and petitioned for aid. His Majesty heard that plea and dispatched us. That dagger is proof of the Royal Shadows. A proclamation concerning it should have been issued six months ago.”

After Gar delivered the explanation in one breath, the gatekeeper visibly panicked.

Well, he had just called it hideous…

“M-my deepest apologies…”

He collapsed into a prostration and began to tremble.

My own poor explanation was partly to blame, and I didn’t want this to leave lasting resentment over something so trivial.

I dismounted and approached the guard. When I whispered in his ear, he looked up and nodded with a strained smile.

“Then guide us.”

I didn’t understand the proper etiquette for this sort of exchange, so I dumped everything on Gar.

As we traveled through the city, he brought his horse alongside mine.

“What did you tell that guard?”

“Hmm? Only that he owed me dinner sometime.”

“Hah! He insults a royal envoy and gets off for the price of dinner?”

“Was that no good?”

“No. It was perfect, Al-boy.”

Gar burst into loud laughter.

Our guide looked back at us suspiciously, but pretending not to notice was easier.

About twenty minutes later, we reached the lord’s residence.

We were shown into a reception room. While we relaxed, Olivia’s birth mother, First Lady Miria, entered and began her greeting.

“I am Miria von Sandra, First Lady of House Sandra. Thank you for coming all this wa—”

First Lady Miria and I stared at each other.

She definitely recognized me!

Of course someone who knew me would see through a mask like this immediately! Obviously…

I’d been visiting the Sandra residence since last year so Liezas could train me with the greatsword.

I’d even taken tea with Miria several times, Olivia joining us.

“Uh… I-if you could please continue as though nothing were amiss, I-I would be extremely… grateful…”

First Lady Miria smiled awkwardly. Her gaze moved from El to Ashera and finally rested on Mother…

Mother returned the same awkward smile and nodded once. Apparently satisfied, Miria continued.

“Thank you for traveling so far. Unfortunately, the head of our house is away in the capital, but I humbly beg you to save the Sandra domain from its plight.”

“U-understood… F-for now, we need information… If you introduce us to the commander of your forces, we’ll speak with him… I mean, we shall.”

“…As you command.”

Watching me trip over every other word, Miria suppressed her laughter and summoned the knight commander.

“I am Fagil, commander of the Sandra Knights. It is an honor.”

For some reason, the atmosphere demanded that I return the greeting. Come to think of it, El and I were the two Royal Shadows.

As the older brother, of course the duty fell to me…

“We are the Royal Shadows. I look forward to working with you.”

The commander studied me doubtfully.

“Forgive me, but are you not exceedingly young?”

“I am indeed young. Is that a problem?”

“Forgive my continued rudeness, but I heard that the valor of the Royal Shadows was without equal.”

“And?”

“In recent years, the only warriors whose valor has reached us are Blue Ring’s Ice Witch and the guild’s Healer of Fresh Green…”

“What are you trying to say?”

“Haah… I’ll be blunt. We are about to stake our lives in battle. This domain may be destroyed. We have no time to indulge some noble brat’s amusement.”

“So you believe me weak?”

“That’s what I’ve been saying!”

“Haah… It will be quicker to show you. Gather ten of your finest knights in the training yard.”

“Knights? Why?”

“If I defeat all ten, you’ll understand my strength.”

“Don’t be ridiculous!”

“Lost your nerve already?”

“…Very well. Don’t blame us if you get hurt!”

Commander Fagil stormed from the room.

“Al— No, Royal Shadow, Fagil is skilled enough to have been recruited by the Royal Knights. I’ll intercede as well, so please don’t resort to violence… Olivia would grieve if you were hurt…”

“Lady Sandra, I will not lose. Please watch.”

The quickest way to persuade a muscle-brain was to speak his language.

Time for some light exercise.

A butler led us to the training yard. Ten knights were already waiting, overflowing with killing intent.

“Aldo. I want to join.”

“Brother, so do I.”

“If you two joined, it would be over in an instant… Later, I’ll have you show them a mock battle so we can break their confidence completely. Wait until then.”

“All right…”

“Understood.”

El and Ashera stayed back. Gar and the others had overheard us and were staring in disbelief.

I stepped forward holding a wooden dagger. One knight came forward with a wooden sword.

“Hmm?”

“What is it? Frightened now?”

“No. Why are the other nine standing there empty-handed?”

“What do you mean?”

“I said one against ten. Go get wooden weapons already.”

Their faces flushed scarlet at my provocation.

Only after hurling a torrent of abuse did all ten finally ready their weapons.

“Hey, why are you standing over there? Aren’t you going to surround me?”

““““““…””””””

Their fury had apparently climbed so high that dangerous laughter began to escape them.

My rage has reached the summit! A legendary line.

The ten took positions around me, every one of them bristling with murderous intent.

“Lady Sandra, give the signal.”

Miria’s face was pale, but she somehow managed to nod.

“B-begin…”

At her signal, all ten knights attacked simultaneously.

That initial coordinated strike was precisely the point of surrounding someone. As expected of knights—they understood.

I could have countered with Reactive Armor, but if I ended the match instantly, they might not grasp the difference between us.

Instead, I escaped into the air with Vernier.

At the same time, I formed ten nonlethal Wind Bullets around myself.

As an aside, after a year of training, my current maximum was eleven. Too many became difficult to handle, so I normally used ten.

The knights stared at me in shock.

They were completely full of openings…

I could have attacked, but I wanted to demonstrate our disparity beyond doubt.

I descended and beckoned them forward.

“Y-you little—!”

The instant the charging knight’s sword was about to hit, I fired Vernier. To him, I must have vanished.

I moved behind him and struck the side of his neck, knocking him unconscious.

“Next.”

Five spread out and rushed me together. I evaded every attack using Vernier and my air steps.

This time, I struck three of them with two Wind Bullets apiece and knocked them out.

“Four down. Six remain. Next.”

The earlier anger and contempt had vanished from their eyes.

What remained was fear of an enemy whose strength they couldn’t measure…

They refused to move, so I went to them.

Their coordination was surprisingly good. But that was all.

Once I slipped through their attacks and entered their guard, a one-handed sword had no advantage over a dagger.

I swept my wooden dagger across one knight’s neck and took his consciousness.

“Five remain.”

Fear began to fill their eyes.

At this rate, they might run…

I rapidly lost interest and began knocking them out with mechanical efficiency.

“One left.”

Nine knights lay unconscious, leaving only Commander Fagil.

“Will you surrender?”

“W-who would…”

There was no longer any point, but perhaps the commander couldn’t be the only one to surrender.

I fired Vernier, passed him in an instant, and struck his neck. The tenth fell unconscious.

I immediately lined the knights up and went from one to the next using healing magic.

I’d attacked with meticulous care to avoid injuring them. They should be fine.

Within five minutes, they began to wake.

Their eyes held resentment and fear toward me—the usual negative emotions of the defeated.

But I hadn’t come here to create grudges. I’d only judged that a demonstration of strength would make everything else proceed more smoothly.

“I apologize for my insolent conduct.”

The knights looked startled by my abrupt change in attitude.

“As the Royal Shadows, we are obliged to make our military might widely known. That is why I behaved as I did.”

My improvised excuse seemed to satisfy them, and Commander Fagil apologized for the group.

“No. I am the one who should apologize. I mistakenly believed the kingdom had sent children while our domain faced destruction.”

“Well, I am a child.”

“With that valor, we would welcome you even if you were an infant.”

They were probably good-natured people to begin with. Once I showed them my power and opened myself to them, the ice melted quickly.

“Would you care to watch a mock battle between the Royal Shadows?”

“By all means.”

We then showed them a match between El—the other Royal Shadow—and Ashera, and succeeded in shocking them all over again.

It had been a long time since I’d watched El and Ashera fight, and even I was astonished.

You two aren’t going to get hurt, are you? If one of you takes a good blow, please surrender, all right?

My worries went ignored as the heated battle unfolded.

And so we finally earned the recognition of the Sandra knights.

Now the real work began. From Ao’s explanation, the enemy was probably the Mantises, but we still needed Commander Fagil’s report.