Time was not exactly plentiful.
Thanks to Jason Clarok, they held a complete information advantage, but their start had not been all that early.
If they wanted to appear while the two princes were in the thick of beating each other bloody, they had to hurry.
They marched hard along the broad road, minimizing rest.
Fatigue would accumulate, but the battle itself would likely be anticlimactic.
Because everything had been nothing but smooth.
Smooth.
“Nothing unusual.”
The reports that came in at the same time every day also indicated that the situation was proceeding smoothly.
The two princes were focused solely on each other, and their movements were perfectly normal.
Everything was going according to plan.
If they had paid even the slightest attention to anywhere other than each other, they might have detected the suspicious movements taking place in the east, but they did not.
Jason’s control of information must have had a considerable effect, and they were not in a relaxed enough situation to look elsewhere.
In particular, there was a high possibility that they had excluded the east from their considerations altogether.
That was why things were going so smoothly.
There were three cities they had to pass through on the way to Wildly.
The same had been true when they entered the first of them, the city of Cotrin.
It had gone smoothly.
The city gates were hastily opened at the sight of an army numbering in the tens of thousands.
The lord, who came running out in a fluster, bowed his head with all his might the instant he saw the princess.
“It is an honor to receive Your Highness!”
Thanks to the quick-witted lord, they rested well for a day as planned and left Cotrin.
The next place they had to pass through was the city of Linford.
Linford was not much different from Cotrin.
No, it was even easier and faster.
Before the corps even arrived, the city gates had already been thrown wide open.
As it was a neighboring city, they seemed to have heard the news and responded quickly.
It was exceedingly smooth.
They intended to rest only briefly in Linford before passing through.
They had taken more than enough rest in Cotrin, and in order to meet the schedule, it was time to move quickly again.
That had been the plan, and there should have been absolutely nothing that could interfere with it.
It certainly should have been so.
And yet… why had things turned out like this?
“……”
Theordo looked at the girl lying before his eyes as though dead.
“……Your Highness.”
A gaunt face.
Eyelids that did not so much as twitch.
If not for the faint sound of her breathing, she would have looked unmistakably dead.
Sylvia, who had suddenly collapsed in the second city, Linford, had still not regained consciousness.
They had hurriedly procured the largest carriage in Linford and were moving while carefully carrying Sylvia inside… but was this really the right thing to do?
Should they not be seeking out a physician or a temple at once?
He did not know.
She had shown all sorts of symptoms until now, but this was the first time she had completely lost consciousness and remained collapsed for so long.
“The aura of death has begun to rise all the way to her head.”
At the voice that came from beside him, Theordo turned his head.
Hio, who had been examining Sylvia, had spoken to him.
The eyes that had been a pale gray were gradually returning to their original color.
“So get a hold of yourself, Theordo. What are you going to do if you fall apart mentally?”
Hio, who said that, did not look well either.
He had abused his body to its limits for the sake of endurance.
“Haa……”
Only after seeing that did Theordo press a hand to his forehead and let out a deep sigh.
He looked broken, in a way unlike himself.
He did not know what was what, nor what he should do. Everything was a mess.
At times like this, he bitterly resented his own head, which was only as hard and unyielding as stone.
“Truly… is that really the method that can save Her Highness?”
No matter how much of a miracle-working mage he was, was the method not far too strange?
He had to gather ki while being beaten?
He would gather ki and save the princess with a new spell?
On top of that, he supposedly could not use any other magic in the meantime.
“Yes. Though Sylvia will have to endure until then.”
Part of him wondered if such a thing could possibly make sense, but when he recalled Hio’s serious expression and everything he had shown thus far… he found himself wanting to believe.
That Sylvia could live.
He wanted to believe that.
“So, Theordo. Don’t waver. Do what you can do. I’ll do what I can do.”
“……What I can do.”
“Yes.”
Theordo looked at Hio again.
It did not show much on the surface, but his body must have been full of wounds in places unseen.
“Hio Pavlenko. You… why do you go so far?”
When he thought about it, theirs was a trifling connection.
Only a one-sided request.
Wealth and honor, or power. None of it had been guaranteed. No, it could not have been.
And as they spent time together, he had not seemed like someone who coveted such things.
Then why did Hio Pavlenko—
Why was this mage, who possessed all manner of abilities, ruining his own body to help Sylvia?
To that question, Hio answered as though it were obvious.
“I promised.”
Well, there were all sorts of reasons, and it was true that the situation had become one with no way back, where they absolutely had no choice but to make Sylvia emperor.
But that was not the entire reason.
Had he not made a promise?
“To you, and to Sylvia. I promised.”
To Sylvia, he had promised that he would make her emperor. That he would struggle alongside her until just before she died.
To Theordo, he had promised that he would make it possible for Sylvia to live. That he would help Sylvia accomplish her goal.
Had he not promised as much?
That was one of the many reasons Hio helped them.
“……A promise.”
Theordo closed his eyes and repeated the word once more.
“So don’t waver. Do what you can do right now.”
“……Understood.”
When Theordo opened his eyes, he had returned to the Theordo of before.
A taciturn, unwavering knight.
The princess’s guardian knight, who steadily carried out the tasks he had to do.
In that Theordo’s eyes, Hio Pavlenko’s figure was reflected.
“I will do what I must.”
“Yeah, good thinking. Things are a bit like this right now, so later, when evening comes, hit me aga—”
“Hio Pavlenko.”
The taciturn knight spoke firmly.
“Let us stop now.”
* * *
Damage inflicted on the body could only accumulate.
In other words, the situation was very different from when he engraved a Circle into his heart.
Unlike then, when he could suffer endlessly as long as his stamina and mental strength held out, physical damage did not recover so quickly.
Naturally, the time he could spend in pain grew shorter, and the number of times he fainted increased.
Knowing that, Theordo had said it.
“You must rest. If you keep going, you may permanently lose the use of some part of your body.”
“……Is that so.”
Even if he rested from now on, it would be cutting it close.
He probably would not have to participate directly in the war, but could he afford to be groaning helplessly if an unforeseen situation arose?
Regrettably, this meant raising endurance through pain ended here.
[Hidden Trait: Violence Is Not Okay! (Endurance 702 / 1000)]
Even after being beaten for days until he literally passed out, this was the limit.
It had risen the most on the first and second days, and after that, it had not increased by much.
When he collapsed the moment he was struck, there was no way endurance or anything else would rise.
Even this number might have been impossible without the Catalog of Endurance.
Looking at Hio, Theordo asked,
“Hio Pavlenko. You seem quite accustomed to enduring. Has something like this happened often?”
“Well… as you can see.”
Answering so, he turned his head and met Theordo’s gaze.
By now, even that blunt expression had become fairly familiar, so he could see it.
“I do not know your circumstances, but do not endure too much. A human being’s mental strength is not infinite.”
“I’ll keep your advice in mind.”
The warm concern hidden deep within those indifferent eyes.
* * *
Even by the time they arrived at the third city, Adon, Sylvia had not regained consciousness.
Unless the aura of death that had surged all the way up to her head was drawn out, she would never wake again.
Not until she died.
He did not tell Theordo that fact.
Theordo had already shown a precarious side unlike himself.
If he learned that this might be Sylvia’s end, what would happen?
No matter how futile death was, was it not far too cruel to part like this without leaving even a single word behind?
“Once we pass Adon, Wildly is close.”
In any case, now was the time to focus on what lay ahead.
The battlefield was not far.
“And the timing?”
At Hio’s question, Jason shrugged.
“Just right.”
In his hands was an armful of documents containing reports.
“It seems Second Prince Veloke has arrived at Wildly and is setting up camp, and First Prince Allenbert’s side should be arriving soon as well.”
After several days of hard marching, they had managed to match the timing appropriately.
All that remained now was to strike the two princes from behind.
And to somehow gather enough endurance to save Sylvia, who was barely holding on.
If they could accomplish only that, then one very major problem awaiting them in the future would be solved.
After walking about half a day from the city of Adon, an immensely wide plain appeared.
The Wildly Plain.
As they entered its outskirts, Jason checked the final reports.
- First Prince, detouring through the Mulder region, nothing unusual.
- First Prince, passing through the Maladin territory, nothing unusual.
- First Prince, entering Ostrum, nothing unusual.
- First Prince, entering Wildly, expected to encounter Second Prince’s side soon.
The final report stated that he would soon meet the Second Prince.
Reports of similar content arrived from all the informants at once.
At this point, it was reliable information.
Considering the time it had taken for the messages to arrive, the war should have begun by now.
That would have been enough to be satisfied with, but Jason meticulously checked all the information from the Second Prince’s side as well.
- Second Prince, entering Wildly, nothing unusual.
- Second Prince, arrived at Wildly, waiting with forces widely dispersed.
- Second Prince, waiting at Wildly, nothing unusual.
- Second Prince, waiting at Wildly, numerous troops discovered ahead.
The information from the Second Prince’s side also matched perfectly.
After checking the final report, he relayed it to the command, and in response, Yon Torno halted all troops and had them rest.
It was their final rest before the war, as well as a wait for the scouts who had gone ahead.
How much time passed like that?
A small cloud of dust could be seen in the distance.
The scouts were racing toward them on horseback.
The command of the corps waited willingly for the information they would bring.
The scouting party cut through the countless soldiers and reached Yon Torno.
Faces drenched in sweat. Dust caked thickly upon them.
And expressions so urgent that none of that even registered.
“They’re c-coming in droves!”
The news they delivered was something no one present had expected.
“All of the Second Prince’s forces are rushing toward this place!”
Every member of the command sprang to their feet.
“What do you mean by that!”
And then, slowly, a sight began to come into view before their eyes.
As though proving the scouts’ words, something wavered beyond the distant horizon.
Forms swaying as they stretched out in a long line.
What those things drawing gradually closer were, everyone knew without needing to be told.
“Why are the Second Prince’s forces—!”
“Where did the First Prince’s corps go, and why are they coming this way!”
Tens of thousands of troops were running toward them.
Something had gone terribly wrong.
As for where and how it had gone wrong, surely…
“Information leaked.”
Whether from the First Prince’s side or the Second Prince’s side.
Information had leaked somewhere.
Hio’s eyes flashed as he turned his head.
“Jason Clarok.”
The one most closely connected to information.
But Jason, at that moment, was more flustered than anyone else.
“That can’t be……”
He sprang from his seat and rushed out, hurriedly clutching all the documents.
He compiled the reports he had received once more.
- First Prince, detouring through the Mulder region, nothing unusual.
- Second Prince, entering Wildly, nothing unusual.
- First Prince, passing through the Maladin territory, nothing unusual.
- Second Prince, arrived at Wildly, waiting with forces widely dispersed.
It was not merely that information had leaked.
How many informants had they dispatched to the field?
Deceiving all of their eyes was, in effect, impossible.
- First Prince, entering Ostrum, nothing unusual.
- Second Prince, waiting at Wildly, nothing unusual.
In other words, it meant that something had happened to every single informant…
But that, too, made no sense.
If someone with that level of ability had been on the princes’ side, there was no way they would not have known.
Jason, who had been frantically comparing the documents back and forth, abruptly stopped moving.
“……I found it.”
Within the reports he had thought fit together perfectly, there had in fact been a very subtle flaw.
Only now had he discovered it.
- First Prince, entering Wildly, expected to encounter Second Prince’s side soon.
- Second Prince, waiting at Wildly, numerous troops discovered ahead.
Given the scheduled reporting times, the report from the Second Prince’s side came later.
That meant the report that should have come up from the Second Prince’s side should not have been that numerous troops had been “discovered” ahead.
Normally, it should have stated that they had “encountered” the First Prince’s side.
“Numerous troops discovered, huh……”
Jason let out an empty laugh and set the report down.
He had realized the meaning of “discovered” in the report from the Second Prince’s side.
“This… was referring to us.”
All the reports from the First Prince’s side were false.
They had not yet appeared at Wildly.