Zebec The God-King Slayer (2)

“It was exactly the same. So much so that it would have been impossible unless they were twins. It was not merely a case of a son resembling his father, or blood relatives resembling each other.”

“So. The Celestial Fire Knights are a means for the Northern Emperor to seize the Rescue Knights Order? And they must have been created from birth through some suspicious magical method?”

“That is the only conclusion I can reach. Sir Azadine. Be careful.”

“Hmm. So that’s why you came to find me. Understood. Get some rest. In the meantime, I should organize my thoughts a bit.”

“…….”

At Azadine’s order to rest, Zebec collapsed on the spot and fell asleep. Worn out and haggard from his long life on the run, he sank into a sleep like death.

“Well now.”

Azadine trusted Zebec, of course.

He was surely not slandering Karna with baseless claims; Karna probably truly looked exactly like Prince Adrata, as if they had been cut from the same mold.

Given the suspicious aspects of Karna’s birth, it was possible that he had been born through the use of some evil magic.

But how could that be proven?

‘First, I’ll need to hide Zebec and disguise him. Whatever schemes the Northern Emperor may have pulled, now is not the time to confront him head-on.’

Having resolved to protect Zebec and Scott, Azadine kept watch over the surroundings while they slept, and he, too, took some rest.

By the time Azadine returned to the main force of the Celestial Fire Knights, they had already fought a battle against a Bri scouting party.

The forty Celestial knights had swept through the Bri with terrifying power, and the servant corps and infantry under their command outnumbered the army of many a count, smashing the Bri scouts apart with unstoppable momentum.

“Ah, Sir Azadine! I am sorry about this. After you left, the Bri attacked, so we were unable to go out and capture the God King… no, the traitor Sir Zebec. So, did you find Sir Zebec?”

Karna greeted Azadine warmly and asked.

“Ah, I see. I could not find him. Perhaps because the Bri sorcerers used forest magic, but even when I tried to search from above, the branches were too thick and obscured everything.”

Azadine said this with a feigned air of innocence.

“What a pity. I am sorry to have sent you on a wasted trip.”

Fortunately, Karna did not seem to suspect anything either.

“Not at all. I am the one who should be ashamed. The Celestial Fire Knights were engaged in battle, and yet I was absent from my post.”

“Haha. Rabble like that poses no threat at all. We are descendants of angels, after all. It would never do for us to fall to mere miscellaneous troops like the Bri. Still, the soldiers did suffer some losses. It truly would be nice to have a competent infantry commander. So then, what do you think of my proposal?”

“It is a generous offer, but since I have obtained a travel pass, may I give you my answer after I first arrive in Saint Mallory?”

Azadine asked Karna, who was trying to recruit him, whether the decision could not be postponed.

“Hmm. Surely my proposal did not displease you?”

Karna looked slightly disappointed by Azadine’s attitude. Whenever he merely displayed the wings of an angel, even fallen knights who had been indulging in drink and women only moments before would instantly return to being devout believers in the angels.

And yet Azadine had shown no reaction at all, whether a Celestial let angelic wings shine forth or a beautiful young knight girl caressed his cheek.

Could it be that Azadine was wary of us? Karna could not help but come away with that impression.

In truth, Azadine really was wary of the Celestial Fire Knights, so Karna’s suspicion was not unfounded.

“How could that be? It is a glorious proposal. With darkness drawing near, the deeds of the Celestial Fire Knights are truly like a single ray of dawn driving away the dark. However, as you know, given my origins… I must make many preparations first.”

“Regrettably, I cannot leave the post of infantry commander vacant until then.”

“That is all right. If the order possesses justice and virtue, then even if it is only a lowly post, I would gladly serve as a retainer.”

“Ah, I see. My apologies, Sir Azadine. I had no intention of insulting your piety.”

Karna apologized, worried that his attempt to sway Azadine with rank and authority might have insulted him. It was a courteous manner, unlike what one might expect from royalty.

‘When you look at him like this, he really does seem like a good, upright lad for a royal. Hmm. But Sir Zebec would not have spoken nonsense, either.’

Azadine felt slightly guilty about feigning ignorance in front of Karna.

“Then I shall depart southward, for Saint Mallory. May fortune in war be with the Celestial Fire Knights.”

“And may you travel safely as well. Ah, Sir Izmilla will likely want to bid you farewell.”

“Yes. I shall greet her before I go.”

Azadine exchanged farewells with Karna and withdrew.

Izmilla was the second-most senior member of the Celestial Fire Knights after Karna, and the commander of the left-wing assault unit.

She was making post-battle preparations together with the knights of the left-wing assault unit. The knights had suffered little damage, but many horses had been wounded, and among the infantry and servants there were injured and dead, so the force was in a position where it needed to be reorganized.

When Azadine came to find her in the midst of that, Izmilla brightened visibly.

“Sir Azadine! You have returned? What became of Sir Zebec?”

“I couldn’t find him. The trees were too dense.”

“What a shame. If we caught him, we could make quite a show of it when handing him over to the King’s Church.”

“More importantly, it seems there was a battle. Are you all right?”

“The horses’ hooves are worn down. Many of them need new horseshoes, and there have been many casualties among the infantry and servant corps.”

“And the knights?”

“Not a single one was injured.”

“That is impressive. Truly, so all of you are Celestials after all.”

“This would be a fine opportunity for you to take the role of infantry commander, Sir Azadine. Sir Karna gave me a hint that I should try somehow to recruit you.”

Izmilla’s eyes shone as she said that. Azadine felt troubled by the pure goodwill contained in her gaze.

“My apologies. But first, I must stop by Saint Mallory.”

“Then after that, will you be joining us?”

“I cannot promise that. As you know, I must also look after my subordinates in Chadra.”

“Ah, I see. That is a pity. It would have been nice if we could have been together.”

“Then I shall be heading south. Take care of yourself.”

Azadine bid Izmilla farewell.

There were many suspicious points, from Zebec’s warning about Karna to the minds of the Celestials, which were even younger than their youthful appearances suggested, but the transparent goodwill of Karna and Izmilla put Azadine in an awkward position.

If only he could simply trust them and join them without any suspicions.

But that would be blind faith, deliberately numbing his own wisdom just to make things easier for himself.

Azadine said his farewells to Izmilla.

After parting ways with the Celestial Fire Knights, Azadine flew south on a hippogriff and reached the appointed place.

Scott and Zebec were waiting by the roadside near a marsh hidden amid the thickets.

“You have returned? Sir Azadine, what were the Celestial Fire Knights doing?”

“They did not seem especially suspicious. It looks like they intend to continue crushing the Bri, go as far as the Chadra Plateau, and then return.”

“They will win the hearts of the people. Just as expected….”

Zebec groaned.

“If the prestige of the Celestial Fire Knights continues to rise like this, I worry how Darhan-Jadek’s grievance can ever be cleared.”

It seemed Zebec wished to avenge Darhan-Jadek’s resentment. Azadine said a word to him.

“I should tell you in advance, Zebec. I, too, harbor suspicions toward the Celestial Fire Knights and those around them. But if those suspicions turn out to be trivial, if there is no major reason to oppose them, then even if the Northern Emperor takes the world through one scheme or another, I intend to let it pass.”

“…Is that so?”

“Yes. While the people are being threatened by monsters and cultists, the other kings have so far failed to respond properly. Compared to them, Northern Emperor Cohen may be sinister and underhanded, but he is working hard and achieving results. He may be the enemy of Sir Plank, who led me to the Rescue Knights Order, but if there is no grave flaw in the Celestial Fire Knights… then I will overlook it.”

“I understand. Then let us go together to Saint Mallory.”

“Why Saint Mallory?”

“Are you aware that the Benevolence Order within the Rescue Knights Order operates an assassination organization?”

“Well, yes, I know that.”

“In the same way, the King’s Church also has a Shadow Knight Order that carries out its dirty work. And I was originally trained as a disciple of Sir Ject in order to join that place.”

Zebec gave a bitter smile.

“Though I failed to pass the final stage of the training and was cast out.”

“What kind of final training was it?”

“It was infiltration training for Saint Mallory. It was the sort of mission where, if you were discovered by an innocent resident during the exercise, you were expected to kill the resident and continue the infiltration.”

“Infiltration into Saint Mallory?”

“Yes. There was a training facility built in the wasteland of the Kingdom of Tarasar, made to imitate the streets of Saint Mallory. The climate was different, so it could never be perfect, but there we repeated our training. The purpose was to infiltrate Saint Mallory, expose the shameless secrets hidden by the Rescue Knights Order, and bring them to ruin.”

“What sort of secrets?”

“I do not know that either. I was eliminated from the training before the end.”

“Hmm. Then the King’s Church, too, had grasped that Saint Mallory held some filthy secret of the Rescue Knights Order. But they still do not know exactly what it is?”

“Yes. Sir Ject would know more details, however.”

“Then we should meet Sir Ject. As it happens, I think I can roughly see where he went.”

“Yes?”

Zebec was astonished by Azadine’s confident declaration regarding Ject’s whereabouts.

Scott the orc whined that he did not want muscles building up in his legs.

But they could not very well have him riding a mount made from Bri corpses lashed together in places where people lived.

So Azadine had the hippogriff devour the grotesque mount Scott had been riding, and decided to send him ahead on the hippogriff instead.

“Gah! This monster is eating my body of genius artistic work! Boss! That’s too much!”

“Artistic work, my foot. And don’t call him a monster. Because you’re going to be riding him through the air.”

“No, Boss. You want me to climb onto a hippogriff’s back? I have no idea how much muscle I’ll build just trying to hang on and keep my balance.”

“If you starve yourself, it’ll go away. Stop complaining and ride. The hippogriff does not have much stamina anyway, so it will not be able to fly very far.”

“And you, Boss, and Sir Zebec?”

“We’ll go on foot. Go ahead and wait for us. Looking at the map, there is a three-way intersection about a day’s walk to the south. Let us meet there.”

“And if something happens?”

“Then send us a message with message magic.”

Azadine pulled out some dried fish meant for emergency rations. When Scott cast necromancy on the dried fish, it turned into a message-spell doll.

“Th-then. Ugh, please let nothing happen.”

Scott took off first, flying south on the hippogriff.