The Order’s Secret Weapon (5)

Bernard handled negotiations with the Van Dyke Trading Company.

A fragile glass fractional distillation apparatus. A precision bellows capable of finely controlling temperature. Safety gear designed so that even if you ground gunpowder—if it exploded—you might still survive. Bernard had deeper alchemical expertise than the others, so he could tell quality at a glance.

“Vermilion Fortress… Wouldn’t its commander happen to be a man named Azadine?”

A young woman who looked like the company’s manager approached with bodyguards in tow. The merchant seated across the table from Bernard yielded his place and stood behind her.

“That’s right. He’s our commander.”

“I see. For a Messenger-blood to become part of the Order… the Rescue Knights truly must be fair and impartial, free of prejudice. Or did he offer some special treasure?”

“I only know the Order acknowledged him for merits on many fronts. More importantly—when will we receive the goods?”

“Hm. If we place an order with the dwarves, you’ll need to wait at least two weeks. We have to ship it carefully so nothing breaks.”

“Then proceed. You’ll be paid once everything arrives intact.”

“To place an order with the dwarves, we’ll need a deposit.”

“Here.”

Bernard paid without haggling, simply handing over the deposit. Camilla stared, shocked at how readily Bernard was throwing money around.

“What are you doing? Why aren’t you bargaining? Trying to feel rich on public funds?”

“Let’s step outside first.”

Bernard signaled his companions and tried to leave the building. But the company’s doormen cleared their throats and blocked the door.

“Sir. There’s something we need from you….”

“Hit them, Kuntachi.”

“Huh? Sis?”

“Hit them!”

At Camilla’s command, Kuntachi hesitated not at all—he gripped brass knuckles in both fists and smashed a punch into the doorman.

—THUD!

With a terrifying impact, the doorman’s head looked like it had been crushed.

Or rather, that’s what it seemed like at first.

The doorman’s body turned slick and silver. The other doorman beside him lit up his silver eyes and gripped a club.

“We need your appearances.”

The doppelgangers revealed their true nature. When they swung their clubs, Kuntachi immediately met the blow with his brass knuckles.

“Wow. Half-orc—your strength is impressive.”

The doppelganger fumbled, its club knocked loose from its grip.

Then Camilla stepped on a wall display, vaulted over the doppelganger, and drove a blade deep into its back.

The doppelganger twisted to avoid the stab, but Kuntachi slammed a hook punch into it before it could slip away.

The siblings struck from front and back—knife and fist together—cutting off the doppelganger’s breath.

—THUD!

A dull clank, and a chain dropped to the floor. One link from Kuntachi’s chainmail had snapped and rolled away.

An arrow had embedded itself into Kuntachi without him even realizing.

“Alright, everyone stop. The conversation isn’t over yet.”

The manager had a bow drawn, an arrow nocked, aiming at them.

“Kuntachi!”

“Ugh… s-sis. It hurts!”

“You’ve heard the rumors, right? No—if you’re Azadine’s people, it’s not a rumor at all. Our Messenger arrows don’t miss their target. Even now, I could’ve put it through your skull, but we need you alive.”

“Ghk….”

“Now, then…”

Certain of victory, the woman jerked her chin at her men. Doppelgangers moved in.

“Relax. We don’t want anything more than your looks.”

While Camilla and Kuntachi were pinned down, Bernard calmly swept his eyes across the room.

“Hm. Messenger arrows never miss, you say. Then what about this?”

He snapped his fingers—and the lights inside the building began to go out. The shop was sealed tightly from outside light, so darkness fell in an instant.

“This bastard?!”

Startled, the manager fired at Bernard. With the sudden darkness, she couldn’t see clearly—but she loosed the arrow toward where he had been.

Bernard had predicted exactly that.

A silver liquid extended around him and flicked the arrow away.

It was the blood of the doppelganger Camilla and Kuntachi had just slain. Bernard had manipulated its blood and flesh to block the arrow.

“Let’s leave. Cough…”

Bernard’s voice echoed from multiple points in the room. He used magic to scatter his sound so they couldn’t pinpoint him by his voice.

‘Damn it. This guy’s a serious mage. No—why is someone like this in a backwater like this?’

The manager, rattled, started to recite a spell to create light.

But the moment she lit the room, Bernard’s magic could strike.

‘Doppelgangers can see through darkness, but…’

She couldn’t fully trust her own doppelganger underlings.

Should she risk Bernard’s attack to turn the lights on? Or heighten her senses and wait in the dark while guarding against anything approaching?

Then, suddenly, fire flared.

Kuntachi had knocked over a lamp.

Bernard had extinguished it with magic moments ago—but this lamp used a metal wick. The heated wick fell onto a bundle of paper, and flames sprang up.

“Oh, for f—”

Camilla spat a curse as she watched.

“Run!”

Bernard sent the doppelganger corpse charging backward with blood magic while he headed for the exit.

“Damn it! Those bastards set it on fire! The merchandise will burn—put it out!”

The manager paled as the fire threatened her goods.

“What the hell is this?”

Azadine reached the entrance of the Van Dyke Trading Company just as Kuntachi, Camilla, and Bernard burst out—Kuntachi still with an arrow lodged in him.

“Hey, Azadine!”

Camilla was furious.

“You knew this was a trading company run by the Messenger bloodline, didn’t you?”

Otherwise, he wouldn’t have conveniently stayed out of it and sent only his subordinates in first. If he knew, he could’ve at least warned them—yet he’d said nothing and tossed them straight into a tiger’s den.

“Shh. Quiet. That’s dangerous talk.”

Azadine cautioned her and checked Kuntachi’s condition.

The arrow was embedded, but perhaps Kuntachi’s muscles were simply too dense—or the archer’s strength too weak—the wound wasn’t deep.

“Bernard. What happened?”

“We met doppelgangers inside.”

“Doppelgangers?”

Instantly, Azadine’s thoughts tangled. Doppelgangers had disguised themselves as Fireglyph soldiers and attacked Izmilla and the investigators.

And in the end, it was the Northern Aragasa who abducted Izmilla.

Azadine had naturally assumed the Northern Aragasa and the doppelgangers were allied—but it turned out they were different teams entirely.

‘So those bastards just stole the payoff.’

Azadine had already betrayed the Messenger bloodline—or from his point of view, the bloodline had betrayed the Emperor’s Messenger.

Even so, the fact that the Northern Aragasa—those strange “cousins”—had hit his clan in the back and snatched the target made his pride sting.

‘Even if the clan and I are enemies now, the Northern Aragasa should’ve lost to them. No—getting annoyed about this is ridiculous too.’

The human heart was complicated. Azadine had been bullied as a failure, yet seeing the Messenger bloodline that had tormented him get toyed with by the Northern Aragasa and the Northern Emperor’s forces was hard to stomach.

But now wasn’t the time to indulge that strange emotion.

“Bernard. Take care of Kuntachi.”

“Then pull it out.”

Azadine yanked the arrow free in one motion. Kuntachi screamed, but Bernard cast a spell and stroked the wound—scab forming in the blink of an eye.

“Kuntachi! Are you okay?”

“He’s got absurd vitality, so he’ll be fine. Now, let’s move.”

“No. We don’t need to.”

Azadine stepped forward.

Through servants trying to smother the spreading fire, the company manager appeared.

“Huh?”

The moment she saw Azadine’s face, she froze.

“L-Lord Arael?!”

“Delia? You’ve grown.”

Azadine recognized her and frowned.

A junior two classes below him. A woman who had adored the handsome and gifted Arael—and hated Azadine all the more for it. She must have survived thanks to being involved in the company’s management.

“You’re….”

Delia snapped back to herself.

No matter how much Azadine resembled Arael’s face, his voice was unmistakably different.

“Ghk—Azadine?! Why do you have Lord Arael’s appearance?!”

“We’re twins, so we look alike.”

“No! That’s not what I—”

“Answer my question. Why were you targeting Sir Izmilla?”

“How shameless, you traitor of the bloodline! Do you even know where you are?”

She fired arrows at Azadine, but he casually caught them and stuck them into his belt.

Ordinary arrows from Delia posed no threat to him at all.

—Blossoms-Birds, Wind-and-Moon: Yellow Crane!

Realizing her normal arrows couldn’t stop him, Delia immediately invoked Yellow Crane.

The arrows began to move freely, their power surging.

Delia fired a Yellow Crane arrow, making it swing in a wide arc—then cast Blossoms-Birds, Wind-and-Moon: Dusk to appear directly in front of Azadine.

An arrow attacked from behind, while Delia herself attacked from the front with a sword.

But to Azadine, Delia’s skill—someone who had never even become a true Messenger—was negligible.

“Are you out of your mind?”

Azadine caught Delia’s wrist and used her own blade to swat down the arrow flying in from behind.

“Kyaaah!”

Delia’s steel sword shattered into five pieces.

The broken fragments made clear just how monstrous the Yellow Crane arrow’s power was—and how much shock went into Delia’s arm when she had to absorb that force directly.

Delia instantly drew a new dagger.

Azadine simply tapped her torso with his shoulder. She flew a full body-length and rolled along the ground.

“Ghk! T-That’s impossible!”

Delia stared in horror as she finally understood: Azadine’s ability towered over hers.

Back during training, Azadine hadn’t even been able to beat her, a junior two classes below him.

Azadine the embarrassment. Azadine the disgrace—everyone’s laughingstock—had become this strong?

And worse—he wore Arael’s face.

“To steal Lord Arael’s appearance and her power… you traitor of the bloodline!”