Book 8: Chapter 28

The Elarc Defense Chivalric Order was staring down the First Princess’ Army near the East Gate of Elarc. They had received a certain order. That order was “to let through anyone who wished to follow after the First Princess’ Army.”

This was a request that they had received from the First Princess’ Army, to “not get in the way of anyone wanting to join the side of the legitimate heir.” Normally, in order to respect the will of the citizens, it would be best to leave the gates open for those who wanted to leave, but the request was met with nothing but refusal.

The Third Princess Celis was the one that the Elarc Defense Chivalric Order was to respect and acknowledge as the legitimate heir. By following the request of the “rebel” Narika’s First Princess’ Army, they would be admitting that they were below them.

So why would the gates be opened this time? The reason was simple. They had a goal that they had to accomplish, even if they had to take a serious risk.

But they were not to be opened yet. They had to be opened at the right time. This was part of the strategy by Celis herself, and it also had to do with Kain’s mission. Of course, they were at risk of being discovered by the enemy, and it was a bit of a gamble.

And now, there was an unexpectedly large number of people gathered around the opening of the East Gate.

「Open it already! Let us through!」

「Yeah, we’re sick of being trapped in this city!」

「To the legitimate princess!」

「To the legitimate princess!」

The frequent attacks by the Alva had struck fear into their hearts. As ominous rumors about Third Princess Celis spread throughout the entire city, First Princess Narika was like a savior to them.

In a normal mental state, one would be able to calmly distinguish between truth and lies, but as they hear something over and over again, and once their fear gets the best of them, they have the tendency to believe whatever they are told.

Maybe there’s at least a bit of truth mixed in.

Maybe the rumors are true.

What if Princess Narika was right?

Now that I think about it, I heard a rumor like that a while ago. It’s probably true.

In a changing environment, their worries build up, and they blindly wander around, looking for someplace where they will feel safe. By communicating this fear to other people, it spreads even further. This built-up fear then begins to bloom, resulting in “rumors that must be true because they are spoken by many.”

With this, the people gathered around the East Gate spread this fear and unease to the other refugees near the station, and members of the Narika urge them on.

—And this situation was the result of that. The riled up townspeople refused to go back. Even if they were to calm down for a short moment, that awful sense of unease would spread once again. This was an incredibly dangerous situation, and it was horrible for those on Celis’ side.

However, on the other hand, it was suggested that this situation should be used to their advantage. The plan was to have several of Celis’ subjects merge in with the people at the gate. The Defense Chivalric Order had not yet been told what the infiltrators will do, but they were aware of what they looked like.

As one of the men on the Defense Chivalric Order confirmed that “the two people” were mixed in with the crowd, he sent a signal to the others, and their plan was communicated to the knights near the station. As the co-captain was arguing with one of messengers from the First Princess’ Army, the captain appeared next to him.

「Hey, we’ll listen to your request. However, we won’t forgive you if you stay here any longer.」

「You should have said that from the very beginning. So, you will open the gates for us, correct?」

As the First Princess Army’s messenger seemed to celebrate his victory, the captain tried his best to answer him with a frustrated expression.

「We’ll open the gates. However, we won’t let your army move. Only the townspeople have permission to pass through.」

「Yes, so it’s a promise, right?」

「Heh, who knows?」

The captain glared at the messenger, who had a nasty grin on his face.

In reality, he didn’t want to follow their requests. However, the decision had been made by his higher-ups, and at this point, it couldn’t be helped. Also, if this humiliation was going to lead into massive damage against the enemy, he could definitely bear to withstand it.

「…Captain. If we’re following the enemy’s requests, that must mean…」

「Yeah, that’s right. The Halberd of Raidolg will be put into action.」

The Halberd of Raidolg. That was the codename for the plan, and it referenced the myths of Raidolg’s Halberd, which was said to pierce through the forces of evil.

Who was the Halberd of Raidolg going to pierce through? Was it the king that is said to be beside the First Princess, or was it the First Princess herself? Or maybe…

However, even without knowing this, they could still carry out the plan.

The East Gates were opened, and, as the army, yelling something inaudible, led them out, the townspeople rushed outside.

「Everyone, over there! True peace is waiting for us out there!」

「Thank you, Raidolg, for showing me the way!」

Mixed in with the yelling townspeople and adventurers were Kain and Ein.

「Ugh… They really are straightforward, aren’t they」

Townspeople, travelers, and adventurers. The people who walked through the gates each had their own reasons to leave, and they were united in their common goal to “go to where the First Princess is.”

There were also people who planned to “fight well in the First Princess’ Army and rise in position,” and Narika’s side was certainly delighted to have them contribute to their fighting power.

Because of this, there was a wide opening for Kain and Ein to join in.

The biggest problem was the fact that they had to gain access to Mazenda. However, Reina had predicted that it would not be a very significant hindrance for them.

This is because Mazenda would approach Kain and Ein trying to figure out if they would be willing to join her side. If that was the case, there’s no doubt that Kain and Ein would be welcomed with open arms. Even if it wasn’t exactly a warm welcome, she would definitely try to think of a way to put them to work.

There were rarely ever any opportunities to defeat Mazenda, and this was the one. They had to take advantage of the opening and defeat her, once and for all.

This was because there was a very high possibility that the person who brought forth this civil war happened to be the court magic user, the “witch” Mazenda herself.

No, she might have been at it even earlier—the insanity of the king and the widespread confusion that followed may have all been her doing, calculated from the very beginning.

There was no evidence. However, Celis seemed to be completely sure of it. That witch, Mazenda, was the one that drove everything into chaos.

「Mazenda, huh…」

Ein remembered the Mazenda that they saw right before they entered the kingdom. She did seem a bit crazy then, but was it really possible for a court magic user like her to do so much damage?

But the rumors about her connection with the Alva were interesting to her. It was a valuable opportunity to gain insight on the ungraspable secrets of the Alva, so it turns out there was something to be gained out of her participation in this infiltration mission.

As she glanced up at the black swan flying in the sky above, Ein felt a new sense of determination reignite in her heart.