WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Order
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◈ I Became the Dark Knight in the Game World ◈
Chapter 25: It Is Easy to Die Fighting, but Hard to Lend a Road (3)
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“Uh... well.”
The commander, who had received praise far removed from the truth, wondered whether they should answer honestly.
Pardon me, but you looked so much like a spawn of the Abyss that I ordered the soldiers to open fire the moment I saw you. Still, we managed to take down a Wyvern, so all's well that ends well.
...That did not seem like a proper welcome.
As an Imperial noble, the commander had learned all sorts of subtle conversational techniques for situations like this.
The problem was that they had been away from the Imperial capital for so long that they had nearly forgotten them all.
‘Without outright lying...’
“Wouldn't the soldiers who carried out the operation be more impressive than the person who planned it? I ordered the attack, but it was entirely thanks to the soldiers' skill that the results differed from what I expected.”
Good. The commander inwardly admired their still-sharp way with words.
It was true that they had planned the attack. It was also true that the soldiers' skill had produced results different from what they expected. It was a superb Imperial way of concealing who the original target had been.
The soldiers standing behind the commander watched their superior with complicated expressions. Still, if the commander was the planner, they were the ones who had carried it out, so they ultimately kept their mouths shut as one.
“Just as I heard. The Border Guard's elite troops are truly impressive.”
Fortunately, the Dark Knight seemed content to move on with formal pleasantries instead of digging into the mystery that had not been fully explained. The commander nearly sighed in relief.
Thank goodness he was not one of those political knights from the Empire. Like a proper holy knight of the Sacred Kingdom, he seemed to prefer practical, wholesome conversation over complicated exchanges laden with political implications.
Had the visitor been one of those stiff-necked political knights, they might have already demanded accountability for friendly fire, then picked at every little fault and shaken down the guard over something absurd like inadequate rest-and-discipline standards.
After some small talk, the commander decided to ask what they had truly been curious about.
“...May I ask which order you come from?”
Good heavens. What kind of mad order made armor with such a design? It was fortunate that this was a border region beside the Sacred Kingdom, the nation farthest from the Abyss, and that the neighboring country was an ally.
If someone had appeared on the front lines against the Abyss wearing armor like that, they would have been executed on the spot before anyone even heard them out.
‘Huh? That's not all that different from what we did, is it?’
“Ah. You mean my order.”
Kriel trailed off. Explaining it again was awkward. He made a quick assessment of the situation.
Had he done anything unbecoming of a knight?
No. Hadn't he risen to defend a city under attack from the powers of the Abyss? If he had stayed still and turned away instead, his Nobility would have taken a hit.
Would it bring disgrace upon the Church of Eve Kaha?
At times, the pursuit of a knight's Nobility and choices made for a group's benefit stood at odds with each other. For example, if an Imperial village had a corrupt official, an honorable knight ought to expose the corruption, take suitable measures, whether through physical punishment or by sending a report to the Imperial authorities, and then continue on his way.
Yet if he did so as a Champion of the Church of Eve Kaha, some unknown Imperial noble connected to that corrupt official would surely bear a grudge against the Church. At times like that, Kriel borrowed the power of anonymity.
Stories like, ‘An Unnamed Knight Exposes a Local Notable's Atrocities!’ They would be talked about in the community for a while, then fade away. Kriel was rather confident in his ability to create such stories.
‘...My thoughts wandered.’
Had it rubbed off on him from spending so much time with his sword-friends, who seemed to speak whatever came to mind? Kriel finished assessing the situation.
Beating an Abyss-corrupted Wyvern to death did not seem like something that would harm any group. The powers of the Abyss might grind their teeth over it, but those bastards never liked people who did good things in the first place.
Before answering this question, he should have considered whether revealing his identity would cause trouble for the Western Army. But Kriel had no intention of worrying about the military right now.
What did he care? He was a civilian, after all.
More precisely, he was a genuine civilian, but Kriel was willing to overlook such a minor distinction.
That was how his introduction came together.
“I am Kriel, Champion of Eve Kaha. I have not sworn loyalty to the Goddess of Raven Wings, but I have received the grace of her wings.”
Put another way, he was not a follower of Eve Kaha, but he was good with a sword and knew people in the Church, so he had received a recommendation. The Border Guard's commander nodded.
Anyone who could leap onto the city wall and bring down the lead Wyvern in midair was someone any order would want to secure as a Champion.
Several soldiers behind the commander seemed to grow restless upon hearing the name. Wondering whether Kriel was a famous knight, the commander smiled faintly.
“First, could you explain the situation? I had business in the Empire, but when I arrived at this Gate City, I found it surrounded by Wyverns.”
“Well, you see...”
* * *
Kriel followed the commander into another room. It lacked the Empire's distinctive splendor, but it carried the orderly aesthetic of a barracks maintained by a disciplined army.
‘Tch. I can practically feel the air of military seniority here...’
Having practically deserted the Western Army, Kriel felt somewhat uncomfortable in the room, though he did not show it. That would not have been knightly.
“It began when our city's Advisory Mage received an urgent message. I heard there had been trouble in their household, and they needed to leave their post.”
“An Advisory Mage.”
Kriel knew the type well. They were the person in charge of a city's magical defense system. In military terms, it was roughly equivalent to the chief of staff for magical strategy and tactics.
The Western Army's Advisory Mage had treated Kriel like a button that produced results when pressed.
They were not a bad person, but after repeating conversations like, “Please go fight here,” “Pardon?” “I said go fight,” a few times, it was hard not to see them as someone who dumped explosive workloads on others.
“Where is the Deputy Adviser?”
An Advisory Mage's position was not one an ordinary battle mage could handle. It required magical skill, sound tactical judgment, and the ability to adapt. They were an essential part of the city.
Still, they were human, and there were times when they had no choice but to leave their post, as had happened now. To prepare for that, cities normally kept personnel who could not fully replace the Advisory Mage but could serve as assistant staff, handling duties such as supplying mana to the city's magical systems or managing magical strategy and tactics.
But the commander shook their head.
“This is a border in name only. Who would stop priests from entering the country? And any Servant of the Abyss in their right mind would not recklessly invade a place of contact with the Sacred Kingdom. We had no reason to worry about human invaders or Abyssal invaders, so we did not keep a Deputy Adviser.”
Then the commander added quietly, “More than anything, this city has no money. It is not as though priests focus on trade.”
“Huh... Even so, this is a border region. You don't follow the operational manual?”
The commander smiled bitterly.
“There had been no conflict here for hundreds of years. That complacency is why the Wyverns were able to blockade the city.”
* * *
The commander told Kriel that it might be a long story, then led him to the Border Guard's reception room. After the commander and Kriel disappeared, the soldiers began whispering among themselves.
“Kriel? That Kriel?”
“What? Is he some famous knight?”
Then again, his martial skill was far too great for him to remain unknown. If he had been an Imperial knight, he would have already received a title and a fief, living a leisurely life on a quiet estate.
“I heard about him from someone I know in the Western Army. They said he was a proud knight who obeyed no one's orders except the commander's.”
The soldier went on about Kriel's reputation, as described by their acquaintance. The Western Army commander's secret sword. Unknown to the outside world, yet the sharpest blade they possessed.
A knight directly under the command of the commander, who stood below one person and above ten thousand within the Western Army. Why had someone like that appeared as a Champion of a church?
It was truly strange. It meant the Western Army had needed to dispatch its finest knight. And if he had at the same time been granted the title of Champion by an order...
“Could he be tracking the Abyss?”
If the matter was that urgent, nothing but activity from the Abyss came to mind. There were said to be three disasters comparable to the Abyss, but one of them, the ancient Dwarf civilization in the west, had maintained a stable front for several years already.
Given the title of Champion, he was clearly receiving support from the Church, which made it even more likely that the target of his pursuit was connected to the Abyss.
While the soldiers speculated about why the Western Army's secret weapon had suddenly decided to head east for the Empire, one of them quietly slipped outside. They headed for the shade beneath the city wall.
There was a small hole there. It was so small that not even a child could pass through it.
After the soldier tossed something like a black pebble into the hole, a snake soon emerged, raised its head, and opened its mouth.
The soldier hastily scribbled something onto a tiny scrap of paper, rolled it up, and slipped it down the snake's throat. Having swallowed the note, the snake disappeared back into the dark hole.
Footnotes:
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