Chapter 22

Manuals, as a rule, tend to be useless in the very situations where one is most troubled for an answer.

To a rookie who has just started a job and doesn’t know left from right, the training period and the manual are indispensable—they are certainly very helpful at one’s first field site.

However, work does not always accommodate the convenience of those performing it.

Among the many types of jobs out there, there are cases that drastically shift one’s assumptions.

Whether it be the situation, an idea, or a loophole in the rules that seems to overturn established tactics, these things exist to torment humans. Veterans can sometimes respond flexibly, but even such veterans occasionally find themselves groaning at an unexpected situation.

“How is it, Caliban? What is the bird-chan saying?”

Caliban, who was frequently exchanging words with his Hill Myna familiar, turned back toward his senior and muttered with a troubled face.

“According to this little one, the cliff where the Orcs have taken up a position is almost like a landlocked island due to rainwater erosion. I’ll fix the terrain on the map later, but they said they couldn’t find any path that a person could climb.”

“Hmm… something doesn’t feel right about this.”

Chaplin, a veteran of the Engineering Squad, tilted his head while peering at the Orcs’ movements through a telescope.

“There’s no way they’d use a rocky mountain with a cliff and terrible footing as a base, so I thought they were moving through some path humans hadn’t found yet.”

“About that, Senior… apparently there’s a deep vertical shaft in the center of that cliff. According to this one, the Orcs are coming out of that shaft…”

“What? Then is that shaft their method of movement? Did you have them check where it connects to?”

Needless to say, that was vital information, so it would be a problem if it wasn’t confirmed. However, Caliban, who had been in the order for a year, made a complicated face at the question. Just as Chaplin was about to scold him, wondering if he had forgotten—Caliban spoke up.

“I tried to confirm that too, but it seems like it’ll be impossible.”

“Impossible, you say? What do you mean ‘seems like’? Explain yourself clearly!”

“The moment we tried to check the inside of the hole, a storm of stones came flying from what looked like an Orc sentry! There’s no doubt that place is important to the Orcs, but the risk of scouting from the front is too high!”

“That’s impossible! Besides, the hole is deep and I can’t see the bottom!”

According to the double claims of the rookie and the bird, confirmation really did seem difficult.

In short, the only thing they learned from this reconnaissance was the fact that they were surrounded by things they didn’t know.

“Tch! With anti-air fire included, it’s like a natural fortress… I haven’t the slightest clue where they’re intruding into the town from while the vigilante group is watching!”

“I guess we have no choice but to watch their movements while expanding the scouting range…”

“I suppose so… continue the scouting as long as the familiar doesn’t get hurt. I’ll go report to the other units. Good grief, what is with the Orcs this time!”

Orcs lurking in a place where scouting was impossible and reaching them was difficult, plus a mysterious raid route.

The current situation was such that they couldn’t even manage the situational confirmation that was no exaggeration to call essential for Orc subjugation.

The Engineering Squad had stumbled right out of the gate at a site where the scouting methods, which were supposed to have become exponentially more efficient with the introduction of familiars, proved ineffective.

Waiting for them at dinner was the ominous news that the leisure time would be extended a bit longer because the Orc reconnaissance wasn’t going well.

According to the information briefly relayed during the meal, although the location of the Orc nest was mostly identified, an intrusion route couldn’t be constructed, and furthermore, the movement route showing where the Orcs were appearing near the town hadn’t been identified. Because of that, the personnel for a wider-range investigation starting tomorrow were announced.

Now, whether having no work was a good thing or not… actually, it was the nature of the work-addicted knight order that being idle while others were on duty made them want to work instead. Having finished their sweet dinner, the Skirmish Squad spread out a map and were chatting about this and that while snacking on some cheap beans they had apparently bought in town.

“The distance from the quarry area to the town is roughly two kilometers to the north. The Orcs’ base is six hundred meters east of there… in a straight line, they aren’t that far apart.”

“But the route connecting the town and the nest in a straight line has no cover and the footing is bad. If you’re going to pass through here, it would be faster and safer to swim along the riverbank next to the town to get close. Though, the area near that riverbank seems to be covered with a block wall that connects to the cliff on the upstream side. It’s a countermeasure for rising water during heavy rains, so it’s quite high, and the part connected to the river has an iron gate. It’s not a height an Orc can climb.”

“What if they take the long way around? No matter how much of a wall there is, there’s a deep pool on the downstream side, right?”

“Unfortunately, the number of Orc sightings on the south side of town is zero. Apparently crocodiles appear there too, so the theory that they’re using the riverbank is out.”

Additional information obtained through their own exploration of the town’s surroundings was being added to the hand-drawn map.

It wasn’t that they didn’t trust the Engineering Squad, but they felt that leaving it entirely to them would lead to a one-sided view of the situation. When the scouting results were good, they would review based on those results, and when they weren’t—as was the case this time—they would start a meeting on their own like this.

This occasionally led to unexpected discoveries, so it wasn’t something to be scoffed at.

Deep connections between adjacent units despite the vertical hierarchy was the strength of this knight order.

“The location of the damage is to the north of the town… which is toward the Orc nest.”

“Where was the route the vigilante group is watching again?”

“Toward the Orc nest.”

“Is the vigilante group really watching the route to the town? If anything, I feel like we’re the ones being watched…”

“Don’t say it. They have their pride to maintain, too.”

One of the knights replied with a sigh and began placing chess chips on the map where the attacks had occurred.

Chess chips were substitutes for actual chess pieces, with the designs of the pieces engraved onto their surfaces. White rooks were placed where the vigilante group was stationed, and black pawns were set down at the sites of the damage.

“The question is whether there are gaps in the vigilante group’s surveillance… and what route the Orcs used to appear near the town.”

“I’m also curious if their intrusion and retreat routes are the same.”

“By the way, where is Squad Leader Garmon? He’s from this town, so he should be familiar with the geography. I wanted to get his opinion…”

“Ah, the Squad Leader headed into town right after finishing his meal. Maybe he went to go talk to the vigilante group.”

A mid-ranking knight gestured toward the exit with his thumb while munching on beans.

The knight who had asked the question looked slightly suspicious. “Is that so…?”

“I’ve felt like the Squad Leader has been restless since even before we arrived at this town. Usually, he participates in all our meetings…”

“He probably has a lot on his mind. It’s a big deal having Orcs attacking your hometown, after all. Oh, and one more thing.”

The knight added as if suddenly remembering.

“Varna said he was going to try following the Squad Leader, so if we ask him later, we might find something out.”

“Is that guy gone too? Well, Varna’s fine. Whenever he participates, he only says violent things anyway. This time, I’m sure he’d just say, ‘Wouldn’t it be faster if I just ran up the cliff at full speed and cut all the Orcs’ heads off?’”

“Uwa—he totally would! This is why Orc-killing machines are crazy in the head! And the worst part is that he might actually pull it off. Right, Calme-kun?”

“A-Ahahaha… Surely even Senior wouldn’t say something that reckless… right?”

Calme, who had been listening to the conversation from the edge of the meeting, gave a strained laugh at the senior’s prompt, looking away and forcing a hollow chuckle.

‘He said it… that person definitely said, ‘If it comes down to it, maybe I’ll try solo climbing it myself?’…!!’

Calme shuddered, wondering if they could even stop their senior if he actually attempted such an outrage. Furthermore, Calme felt like they had been told to provide cover fire when the time came.

Varna was certainly a respected and reliable senior, but sometimes he was truly insane. It was one of the few things the entire knight order wished Varna would fix about himself.

A wind mixed with sand swept past my feet, stealing away my body heat.

‘Ugh… it’s colder than I expected. Should I have brought a jacket?’

The wind stroking my skin as I ventured out into the town at dusk was surprisingly chilly.

Because of the lack of vegetation and the low humidity, the temperature difference between day and night was likely extreme. This wasteland, which surrendered the sun’s heat the moment it set, was probably like a desert—hot by day and freezing by night.

Whether due to the Orc sightings or just the town’s culture, the streets were already deserted and quiet.

Warm light from oil lamps already illuminated the roads from various streetlights, as if the town had finished its preparations to fully welcome the darkness of night.

Now, at this hour, there were plenty of things to do—like returning to my room or practicing my swordplay—but the reason I was out in town instead was simple: I was following Senior Garmon, who had headed out at this odd hour.

‘Heading out at this time of night carrying his prized spear… he’s not planning to go fight Orcs alone, is he…?’

Seeing the senior head out into the streets clutching his spear the moment he finished eating made me want to follow.

Since he was a dead-serious man, it was a very rare case for him to step outside the motive carriage at night.

Between the incident with his brother during the day and everything else, I felt like Senior Garmon had been acting out of character ever since he heard the name of this town.

In fact, Senior Garmon hadn’t returned from searching for his brother until it was time for dinner. Furthermore, because the progress report was given during the meal, I hadn’t had a chance to ask him about his brother yet.

By the way, as for why I was following him stealthily… it was just a personal whim of mine. I thought it would be boring if the mystery was solved too easily, so I was moving like I was on a scouting mission. There was no deep meaning. If I had to say, I just wanted to enjoy the atmosphere of tracking someone. I really wonder what I’m doing at my age.

‘Still, the senior is heading pretty deep into town… we’re about to reach the road leading to the quarry, aren’t we?’

I didn’t feel a dangerous aura from the senior as he walked about a hundred meters ahead of me, but that was almost more eerie. While questioning why we had passed through the residential area, I continued the pursuit until the senior eventually came out into an open space at the edge of town.

Apparently, it was the departure point for carriages sending stone from the quarry to other towns.

Because of the hour, there were no people, and the carriages were tucked away inside warehouses; it was currently a hollow void.

In the center of that lonely space—the man was there.

“…You’re late, Big Brother. I assume you brought your spear?”

“Of course. How could I not, knowing I was coming to see you?”

“Hmph…”

The familiar man pulled a single-edged spear from his back and spun it around with a flashy flourish.

Pointing the tip of the blade—which kicked up dust with skillful handling—at Senior Garmon, the man, Nagi, roared with a vicious expression of bared fighting spirit.

“Draw!! I want you to feel for yourself just how strong I’ve become these last few years!!”

“Fine. I’ll let you show me everything you’ve got… to your older brother!!”

Fighting spirit erupted from Senior Garmon as he raised his spear in a high guard to answer his brother’s aggressive stance.

Their stances were the same, and the pressure they emitted was nearly equal. The timing of their movements and the sound of their spears clashing as they crossed were perfectly matched, like a clean mirror image.

However, more than the sudden battle, what surprised me was—

‘Hey, hey, they’re not using training equipment; those are real iron blades!!’

Duels using live blades were never permitted except in very special venues like the Imperial Matches.

This was because a live blade was a tool for killing; one never knew when it might accidentally rend flesh or pierce a heart.

Martial arts, in essence, were established by stripping away all waste from the process of slaying an opponent; if you clashed using them, the risk of death was unavoidable. Therefore, there were legal restrictions on fighting with real blades.

Of course, what was happening in front of me was a blatant illegal act.

I hurriedly ran toward the two of them and shouted.

“Both of you, stop right there!! Well, I feel like it’s already too late, but anyway, hold it!!”

“This is a family matter, so no interference!!”

“I don’t know who you are, but if you don’t want to get killed as collateral, back off! You weren’t invited!!”

“…”

And there was that salty response.

Both of them were pressing their spears against each other with all their might without even looking at my face.

One wrong move and—no, from a certain perspective, they were already breaking the law by starting a duel with live blades. I was momentarily left speechless by the beyond-common-sense behavior of these two spearmen.