980 The deputy commander thought.

Earlier, we secured a road within the range of the carriage. But it's still for everyone..... "

All right, then.

So I blocked the report from the knight. I know that she didn't tell me anything else.

Watching the footage sent by the communicators, he constantly flies instructions to the knights. Most knights, not just me, have been moving around sleeplessly since yesterday's accident. A large number of knights still meet in the Operations Room, and many of the knights staying at the scene "collect" come back. Videos from the communicators continued to confirm that a large number of knights had begun excavation work and maintenance overnight and were still in progress.

Search for the bodies of recruits and knights and gather information on ambushers. And... to secure our return to the Queen of Japan.

By the time I get back, please make sure that the carriage passes through. I'm not joking around. "

After the cliff crash... the Queen who unilaterally cut off communications sent me that many commands again.

Paving the way for the Queen who is now staying in the neighboring country to return home. That was the first task entrusted to me as "Knight Commander".

The queen, who is staying in the neighboring country, will soon return by carriage. We need to clear the rubble so we don't go too far.

It's not supposed to be an order to the Knights in the present situation. If it's not an emergency, you can hire a subcontractor in the name of the royal family, not the Knights. It naturally moves to rebuild the country, but we, the Knights, do not move to shorten the time on the carriage.

You don't have to come back to Japan about the carriage.... how many times have I thought that the Queen would be under the rubble?

I nevertheless complied with the order because it was more convenient than anything. Not all the recruits and advance party bodies have been found since the fall of the cliff. Survival is desperate now, but I wanted to return at least a portion of the body to my family.

We still have nothing on the ambushers who attacked Roderick and the others. Though I am certain that I am an opponent of an alliance with my neighbor, there is no clear evidence. In order to do so, it was necessary to remove the cliffs.

It is for us to make roads for the carriage, which is an order from the Queen. Otherwise, the foolish queen would not have allowed the Knights to be sent to the cliffs. There was also a possibility that none of the squads had given permission to leave to defend their castle.

"Fuku... Captain Clark. The knights have just returned from the scene with the cargo.

"Ah, let's pick you up now.... continue to" carry me here "

The knight who has returned to the Operations Room will report back with thanks.

I moved on to the report, which was already several times.

Looking back, many of the knights that have already been brought back are lined up there. These are our knights we dug up all night since yesterday.

I would have been happier if I had recovered the body with the head on it. Part of the body, starting with one arm and one foot. Some "knights" were not flesh and could only collect their personal belongings.... yes, not only the advance troops, but all of us are our "knights" who have been killed in the line of duty and promoted.

Now that the advance party has been wiped out, it will take some time to bring the body in. The only ones who can move the invention that pulls that wagon are the advance troops that built it. For that reason, I had to use a horse and a wagon to carry it one by one.

I'll wait for them in front of the open doors as I step out of the command seat. The knights who returned home without being roughly treated one by one from the wagon. And he that was the size of both his hands was wrapped in cloth, and he that was greater in shape was kindly arranged on the floor, packed in a carcass bag.

I instructed everyone I could identify as my knight with uniforms and armor to be transported to this conference room in front of the morgue. All of the Raiders' remains were transported to another facility to collect information, but only the Knights wanted to rest here.... the knights who worked so hard to survive with Roderick.

"... thank you for your assignment."

I worked with the same words again for them, who could not answer and could only be arranged on the floor.

No one has been discovered alive since then. We sent several knights, including the knights who jumped out before and after the cliff collapse, and even after the cliff collapse, including the seventh. First, the search for the survivors, and secondly, the search for the bodies. The next step is to remove the debris.

Even the queen's escort brought a few knights to the neighboring country, and the original number of knights was small. We couldn't send the rest of the army to the cliffs. If you are invaded by another country here, it could be the worst thing that has ever happened.

"Congratulations, Knight Clark. We have discovered 70% of the Knights at this time. The ambushers have recovered the body of a man who appears to be a leader, although the original number is unknown."

"Oh, I heard from the comms. Thank you for your hard work, Column.... I'm sorry, you just became a knight captain and I'll leave it to you right now."

No, no, no. In reply, he slightly distorted his face.

The group clothes that were always neat are also dirty now. There was mud and stickiness on her face and hair, and her hands were stained with dry blood. He had just become a knight in the battalion, but he was on his way to the scene, along with half of the third. I coordinated with the other captains and entrusted him with on-site instructions. Since some of the advance troops who lost their lives included the rank of captain, it was valuable to have a position that could provide accurate support.

According to reports from the communicators, he took advantage of his abilities while continuing to instruct his men to clear the rubble himself. To be honest, the part where I relied on his leadership as well as his special abilities of strength was enormous. I thought he would lend his full support to the removal work, if not his personality. And as a result... he must have burned the most miserable sights in his eyes.

Even if he lifted the big rock, it wasn't cheering, it was people who didn't keep the original form.

I've never seen a friend die before, but this number should be the first.

He's not the only one. It was unusual for the Knights to die at one time in the last few years with fewer dead. And one is Roderick, the Knight Commander.

Many knights still bury their thoughts in what is before them. It's not just the column. No knight tried to stop his hand at the scene, even if he ordered a break.

Alan, the deputy captain who ran the horse with the best team shortly after the cliff collapse, has also dug up several rubble knights on his own since he rushed to the scene. A deputy captain, he is also one of the captains who spearheads the movement despite his position of directing his men. He may not have been promoted in the same way as the column, but his humanity is great even if he pulls it out. "Maybe one of us is still alive," he shouted, leaking from the footage of the communicators. Perhaps he was the only one who came to the scene and believed that he was still alive.... the Knights who have just lost their big pillars.

"Call the knights on the scene to rest without difficulty. You can't just... do it yourself."

When I put my hand on my shoulder, the expression of the column that I said back became more steep.

Thank you and I will try to encourage him to "what's wrong" by chewing his lips as he returns his words to me. There will be things that are difficult to say, like mountains. Now you can stay inside my chest.

Since yesterday, all I can do for him, who works as sleeplessly as any other knight, is to carry a little burden on his mind. He went all the way from the crime scene to the Knights' Exercise Ground to report it, but he's going back to the crime scene. We still need both his leadership and his special abilities.

As a matter of fact, once he cut off his words, he went even further. I close my ears to him, careful not to be overheard by the knights lined up around him. Whispering from him who apologized once for letting me listen... was originally supposed to be.

"Harrison...." Ah ", from all directions. Our orders won't even move from that field. I'm sorry to trouble you, but could you please order him to return from Knight Clark...?

I think I am looking at my juniors again and again, apologizing to him.

Harrison volunteered to be part of a team that was delayed in getting to the scene after the site was secured, but now he seems to be loose shell. Not long after he arrived at the scene, his purpose was fulfilled.

The column then explained to me that he would not move with his knees on the spot even as the reporting and transport work progressed. The other knights didn't care about Harrison for long, and when he talked, he ignored him and tried to lend him a shoulder, and he pointed his blade at him. Like a ghost, he bites me in the mouth... saying I should have known sooner. What he was doing was imaginable if he thought calmly.

"... okay. Thank you, Column. Let's get Harrison back from me right away. You're in trouble."

Keep asking, and I hit him on the shoulder again.

I had just finished arranging the stowed bodies. The column also left the operation room with the knights who were carrying it. After watching them leave the door again to the most miserable battlefield, I returned to command.

I'll have the comms call Harrison in my name. After a few minutes, he rushed to the point of view of the video in an instant. The sudden appearance relieved me a little that there was still room to use high-speed feet.

Good work, he lowers his head deeply and says, "I'll call you." The marks of tears are still clearly with the mud. I remember the son of a friend who collapsed here yesterday with no shards of vigor in his eyes.

Now I keep it as a "survivor" in the Knights' Exercise Hall, but it is still not in a decent state of speaking. Harrison will be close.

"Harrison, I want you back now. I'd like to leave you alone for a little while as a force.... if I don't rest, the knights won't be able to rest."

If he wanted to ask for a role in reporting anything immediately, Harrison opened his eyes slightly.

Until now, he had eyes like the bottom of a swamp, shaking his purple eyes. If I smiled at him, who showed me that the role was still possible with the signs, I could see that his rigid facial expressions were also powerful.

I'm sorry you put me on the docket, but otherwise he would have decided to call an out-of-force alert.

"Okay, I'll be right back. Immediately."

He returned with a tense voice and disappeared again in an instant.

After he disappeared without waiting for my reply, the horse's hissing rose and I heard the sound of his hooves.

I figured you might have jumped on it already.

……

"Really... oh, my God."

Huh, exhale and sit on the chair.

I asked Harrison to come to me as soon as he arrived, and I decided to take a break before any of the Knights.

There is still time before the next wagon and carriage arrive. It's short enough to call a nap, but it's still enough for me. I was used to the smell of death, but when I got out of the operation room, I realized that I was too used to my nose. Even though I have not been exposed to blood myself, the smell of them lined up on the floor does not fall out of my clothes.

"I took a break at the corner, and I went to see how Arthur was doing, and I told him I was leaving."

Remove the group clothes as the deputy commander and put them on the chair.

Arthur waited for me to come.

Instead of sitting in a bed, he sat down on his lap in the corner of the room, holding no one's mouth until I came. As soon as he called out, he said, "I'm leaving", and his eyes stared from behind his long silver hair.

I just said, "Mom's waiting," and I wanted him to go home, but I didn't think I could hide Clarissa's husband's death.

Arthur was originally a bad liar. Besides, she will be fully aware of her complexion, which she can't hide. I explained it repeatedly and managed to keep pushing it. I can't tell her yet.

"If I show you like that, Clarissa the Stone will not be able to stay flat............. hey"

Wake him up from the back he left behind and turn to his body.

I lowered the angle of my neck halfway through. I understand that I have spoken as if I were in the room, but I am no longer in that position. He has been blessed with body and back since he was a recruit, but now he is much lower than me.

"My friend."

Knight's Corps.

I throw at the remains of a friend lying in a bed in a room that has not yet become mine, just like the troupe clothes.

Nature and expression were caught by the unexpectedly calm voice of myself. For the first time since I learned of his death, it has naturally become the worst smile of my life.

Roderick's body... was found relatively quickly among the knights. Luckily, the communications soldier's special abilities continued even after his death.

Some consideration was given to the fixation of the point of view on the big rock that held Roderick's leg. The knights took time to remove, but soon after Harrison arrived, discovery came true. Most of his body was crushed by big rocks, and only his right arm remained in shape. The only ingredient we could identify as Roderick was the garment decoration.... at the last moment, that arm he was extending towards our perspective is now there alone.

Some of Roderick's "parts" that the knights picked up were arranged together in bed, but I'm sure Clarissa can't prove it belongs to Roderick.

It's just meat. No matter how many parts are arranged, it won't be his fault. Arthur still couldn't get him back together.

Even the knights who were not his own fell from their knees, and lost their voice in despair, and could not forbid tears. Harrison wasn't the only one who couldn't move from where Roderick was. The presence of the Knights was so great.

"... what are you going to do, Roderick? It was supposed to be coming, right?

It was supposed to be from now on. The Knights were to be raised, and the Knights were to be grown again, with massive recruiting. That's what he used to say before he built his current position with me.

But with all the recruits dead, the advance troops wiped out, and the Knights who lost him, the Knight Commander, will be able to reach that high ground in a long time...

I'm with the knights, too. It was because of him that I believed in him. There's no way we'll find a replacement for him. It was too late for him to die, having been named the youngest Knight Commander in history.

At the very least, I would like to ironically say that you should dress as if you were going to die on the battlefield, but the smile naturally withers away. The mouth that I was about to say remained open and did not move. There is no one here to return whatever I say.

"Arthur is still thirteen.... you said you wanted to drink with me at that tavern someday."

Rather than mouth or face, he does not answer.

Roderick, who was delighted that a boy had been born shortly before Arthur was born, said it many times. Since Arthur gave up trying to be a knight, he had spoken naturally, but even if he chose a path other than a knight, he would have wanted to.

A flat voice echoed funny in my ears. Until now, I would have felt nothing standing in front of the knights, but now my hands and feet are as heavy as lead.

If I tried to say lightly that I would drink with Arthur instead, my chest was severely squeezed. As a matter of fact, I think the time will come when we must do so.

It was me when I thought Shizukuzuku fell on the back of my hand. Talk about it while raising the corner of your mouth to the point where you can't even call it a friend's remains. I can't show this to the knights.

I still think it would be good if we moved his body here. Other knights can't see him like this again and again.

Cover your eyes with one palm in an attempt to hold down zero drops from your eyes. As a result, rather than stopping, it increased excessively. I feel like I'm going to snap up my throat, and I think a calm part of my head is not enough for a few hours. But I can't stop it anymore.

"... you really are a troublesome man."

Until the end.

I couldn't say the word, and I just shouted and killed him so he wouldn't leak across the wall.

………

"Even so, it's much better than getting you out on the battlefield."

A voice echoes between the eyes, and a friend roughs up his voice.

Even I was accustomed to shouting too much. Roderick was expecting this as of yesterday.

Whether he embarrassed Pride's actions or intended to speak for himself on this occasion.

Driftstone Pride also stretched his shoulders with a different anger than the one he had just heard. He won't stop when I come in to calm down.

"You were about to mud your way of life as a knight."

Roderick was right.

If Pride had lost his life on that spot, he would have despised his name as a knight rather than destroying his achievements to the ground.

And if Roderick and I were given the time to judge calmly, he and I, the deputy commander, would certainly have chosen an honorable death. It should not involve the royal family per se.... just a friend. Still, I...

"Even you don't understand the value, Knight Commander. How much people who are involved with you admire, love, and listen to you."

I'm glad you're alive, from the bottom of my heart.

Her voice against Roderick was echoed with sharp sharpness.

The anger and sharpness should have been used for herself. I can't go to such a dangerous cliff, being royal. If I told you to get a substitute, we would have tried to communicate with the advance party or the recruits right away.... but their coordinates were uncertain at the time, and I don't know if we made it. It is highly probable that Roderick was shot and killed by an ambush while trying. That's why it was a miracle that he was standing like this now.

"Dear Pride, If this is not an official place, but a place where individual words can be forgiven, is there one thing I can do?"

Pride was forgiven in a word for my advice.

I didn't think that I would ever respect her like this for a long time. I never imagined a day when I lowered my head except for formal thanks and apologies.

Kneeling and expressing gratitude will give Roderick a confused voice before anyone else. It is also to be expected that he will enter the stop. He shouted out his throat, and this time I turned his voice off. Not just as his subordinate now, but as me.

Roderick's argument is unmatched as a knight. But still... I'm sorry, my friend.

I'll be sad when you die.

"My friend… Thank you very much for saving the Knight Roderick.... thank you...!

Me and the knights.