Chapter 295: Cactus (1)

“Advance! By command! For the Honor of the Elite!”

The sounds of bustling military training outside signaled the start of another day as Sophien woke up and stared at the ceiling, blinking her eyes.

Blink, blink— Blink, blink—

With her mind unusually clear, Sophien turned her head like a turtle toward the window where outside the desert sun blazed, searing enough to melt glass and warp steel frames, but inside the main building’s room, the air remained cool and refreshing.

“Keiron,” Sophien called.

—

Yes, Your Majesty.

"I feel lighter now."

Maybe it was the comfort of the room, but Sophien’s body felt light and completely free from the exhaustion that had been weighing her down, her condition perfect as if she could go three days without sleep, and she glanced around, wondering if the Professor had come while she was out, but there wasn’t a single trace left behind.

—

I’m glad to hear it, Your Majesty. However, the ministers are already on their way.

“The ministers are.”

—

Yes, Your Majesty.

Sophien winced as the headache returned.

The ministers, bane of all peace, are on their way? The best thing about the desert was being rid of them, yet why must they follow me even here?

Sophien thought.

“... And the Professor?” Sophien asked, her tone as casual as a passing breeze—as if the answer meant little.

—

The Chairman is scanning the perimeter for possible threats, Your Majesty, using the mirrors placed within a two-mile radius to establish a secure zone around Your Majesty’s presence.

“A secure zone?”

—

Yes, Your Majesty.

Indeed, as long as one understands the characteristics of mirrors, it is possible—at least in theory—to eliminate every blind spot, since sight can refract, reflect, and repeat itself without end.

Sophien pushed herself upright from the bed without a word, and the moment she did, her chest tightened as if her heart had clenched on itself.

"Again, again—this damned..."

Thump—

A pain jabbed into Sophien’s chest as if tiny blades were pressing in, then spread, flooding her head in waves and coming without mercy, though it had no clear source.

“... This damned condition again.”

If my feeling for Deculein is love, then isn’t this pain he brings me also part of that love?

“

Haa

,” Sophien murmured, pounding at her chest as if to knock loose something stuck inside, then pushed herself upright.

Sophien moved in loops around the room with her hands clasped behind her back, and after a while, she perched on the edge of the bed, thumping her chest as if to shake off the weight pressing down on it, then stood again.

“

Haa

.”

Sophien once again clasped her hands behind her back and circled the room before returning to perch on the edge of the bed, just like before.

“

Haa

.”

... Sophien repeated the cycle again and again.

“I feel like an idiot.”

Sophien pulled herself together before the hour passed and, for a change of pace, donned a tailored black suit—the one sent from Yuren.

“

Ahem

,” Sophien murmured, clearing her throat as she lowered herself into the office chair, her eyes on the waiting government agenda documents and her mind already at work.

"This must be one of the reports submitted earlier this morning."

—

Yes, Your Majesty. The Elite Guard is standing by for your judgment on the prisoner's consequence.

At the mention of the prisoner’s consequence, Sophien bit down on her lip as her thoughts flashed back to what Deculein had said.

"I was clear in my judgment—they were all to be put to death," Sophien replied.

—

Yes, Your Majesty. However, it seems they’re waiting for the Chairman’s direction before taking action.

Sophien’s eyes narrowed to a blade as a wave of unfamiliar emotion stirred within her, but this time she nodded with unbroken composure.

“Indeed, Deculein, that damned fool, asked me to grant the prisoners an opportunity,” Sophien replied, picking up her pen.

Scribble—

Sophien scrawled her signature across the document.

“If that is what he wants, I shall grant them the opportunity he speaks of.”

The Empress’s letter, no more than a single sentence long, hovered under

Telekinesis

and disappeared into the air.

“This... shall be the only opportunity they’ll receive—from me,” Sophien muttered.

The opportunity—one nearly impossible that it bordered on a miracle—was as follows.

Within two weeks, present a means by which the finest flower may bloom at the heart of the sand dune.

***

... The Empress’s Elite Guard had raised watchtowers across the desert, linking them with a web of radios and radio transceivers.

They deployed troops along the desert’s perimeter, blocking all routes of entry, and within just three days, they had isolated the entire desert and established a complete surveillance network across it.

“Things are happening way faster than they should be,” Ria muttered.

In the heart of the desert, Ria moved across the sand dunes, her clothes soaked with sweat under the searing sun.

“It must be because of Deculein.”

When the incompetent Bell was appointed supervisor, Ria had rejoiced, but Deculein’s influence hadn’t faded, and he chose instead to tighten his stranglehold on the desert.

Of course, Bell looked none too pleased with how things were progressing.

“How did he come up with the idea to block the underground water source?”

Clomp— Clomp—

It was Deculein’s plan to use the Malia tribe, experts at finding water veins, to block every underground water source, which was why Ria kept pushing forward across sand dunes deep enough to swallow her legs whole.

“

Phew

... this must be the place.”

After everything, Ria reached her destination.

“Okay, this is the underground outpost,” Ria muttered, holding up the map again for confirmation.

I’ve been to this Scarletborn outpost before, during my adventuring days, and I have a pretty close connection with one of the named characters here,

Ria thought.

Ria scanned around and double-checked her surroundings, just in case someone had been following her steps.

“Who is it?”

However, before Ria could be certain she was alone, a chilling voice broke through the silence ahead of her.

Whooooosh—!

"It’s me. You remember me, don’t you?" Ria replied with a bright smile.

Then, through the thinning veil of dust, Ria saw a man—his outline silhouetted against the fading swirl of sand.

“... Wait a second?” the man said, his eyes widened as he looked at Ria, clearly taken aback. “Ria—is that really you?”

"Yes, it's me, Mister Kaixel."

Kaixel, a named character of the Scarletborn, was the nephew of Karixel—now imprisoned in Roharlak—and currently held command of the desert’s frontlines.

“It’s nice to see you again,” Ria added.

Ria had a connection to the Scarletborn, and it was only natural that she sought him out for the main quest.

"... What are you doing all the way out here?”

“Take this,” Ria said, offering the document to Kaixel.

The document was top secret in classification, holding Deculein’s entire plan, including watchtower coordinates, ambush zones, and more, but Kaixel just stood there, blinking as if dazed, unmoving, even with the most sensitive intel gleaming inches from his hand.

“Here—take this. I came to help the Scarletborn and the tribes of the desert.”

The role was that of a double agent—dangerous by any measure—but Ria was willing to take it because the destruction of the Scarletborn and the desert wouldn’t help the main quest—no, it would only sabotage it.

“... I didn’t expect to see you, and certainly wasn’t thinking something like this...” Kaixel replied.

“Would you believe me if I said I approached Deculein for this purpose?” Ria said.

Of course, that wasn’t the only reason I approached him, but it worked out anyway. They say sometimes the best plan is no plan at all,

Ria thought.

“On purpose?” Kaixel repeated.

“Yes. People are being killed—just because they’re Scarletborn, whether they are kids or elders, every last one of them,” Ria replied, her tone brave.

“... But—”

“The Empire is even trying to slaughter the desert tribes now, and that is not right. So here,” Ria interrupted, pushing the confidential document toward him again, “take this.”

“

Ah,

”

Kaixel murmured, holding the document close with stiff hands, but his face was drained of all certainty.

Then Kaixel continued, “But Ria, do you even understand what you’re doing? If you’re caught, it’s not just your execution but the complete wipeout of your family—”

“I don’t even have a family, you know, as long as you keep the secret, Mister Kaixel,” Ria interrupted.

“... Of course, I will protect this with my life. I will believe you, whether the information turns out to be true or not—”

“It really is true, because I stole the information from Deculein.”

Kaixel’s eyes widened in shock, his face trembling with disbelief, while Ria, watching him, offered only a bright smile.

“From Deculein, that professor with ice in his veins? How?”

“I was told I look like Deculein’s former fiancée.”

“

... Ah.

”

Kaixel flinched ever so slightly.

It looks like something crossed Kaixel’s mind, but he didn’t question it, so I guess the rumor is something everyone already knows. Then again, the Scarletborn probably studied and researched everything about Deculein,

Ria thought.

“Meaning that it turned out to be easier than I thought,” Ria said, pulling out a crumpled sheet of paper from her pocket. “Here—take this too. It’s a message paper.”

The message paper was a pair of magic paper sheets—whatever was written on one would appear exactly on the other.

“From now on, whenever I come across more confidential things like this, I’ll bury them underground. I’ll mark the spot on the message paper. Then you, Mister Kaixel, can go and find them later.”

Kaixel remained silent.

“I’m a double agent now,” Ria added.

Kaixel nodded without a word, then accepted the message paper and replied, “Thank you, Ria. You are—”

“You don’t have to thank me since I’m going to count this as another adventurer mission—a double agent mission,” Ria said with a smile. “And, Mister Kaixel, once all the misunderstandings are cleared up and the Scarletborn are finally recognized—”

"I give you my word—on the future of my clan—that your reward will come," Kaixel said.

The moment Kaixel made his vow, a quest notification message appeared before Ria’s eyes.

[Main Quest : Future of the Scarletborn]

◆ Mana Point +500 upon the Scarletborn's independence

“Okay, I’ll trust you!” Ria replied with a bright smile.

***

After Ria departed, Kaixel stayed behind in the Scarletborn’s underground outpost and spoke through a crystal orb about the incident that had just taken place.

—

Ria came to you and said that herself?

“Yes, that is correct,” Kaixel replied.

—

How?

The voice on the other end of the crystal orb was suffused with confusion, because no matter how skilled the adventurer was, Deculein’s confidential information wasn’t something one could easily acquire.

“Lillia, you had said it before, that Ria looks just like Deculein’s former fiancée.”

Lillia remained silent.

“It seems Ria approached Deculein on purpose. After all, the Red Garnet Adventure Team has no desire for war themselves just like us.”

At Kaixel’s words, Lillia Primien—the former deputy director of the Ministry of Public Safety and now commander of the Roharlak concentration camp—fell silent and stayed that way for a long while, saying nothing.

—

Well, now that I think about it, even back in Rekordak, there was something unusual in the way Deculein looked at Ria.

“If not for that, there would be no reason for Deculein to have taken Ria into his side.”

—

That is correct.

Primein agreed.

—

Either way, if she takes on the role of a spy, it would be a great asset for us—especially since she is one of the core members of the Elite Guard.

“Affirmative. And?” Kaixel asked, but Primien’s response had nothing to do with the Scarletborn.

—

To think that professor would leak something confidential, Ria must look like his former fiancée after all.

“... Yes.”

—

I’m ending the call.

Click—

Without another word, Primien ended the call.

“

Hoo—!

”

With a single breath, Kaixel blew out the oil lantern.

***

As I roamed the first floor of the temporary Imperial Palace built in the core of the desert, I caught sight of a familiar face.

"It feels so refreshing here...” Ria said, sitting down on the sofa in the lounge area.

Ria looked completely out of it, her clothes soaked with sweat as if she’d just come back from somewhere, while in her small arms she held the theory of Elementalization I had given her.

“Refreshing dolphins...”

“Ria,” I called.

There was something unusual about the way Ria appeared.

“What.”

“Where have you come from?"

Ria glanced my way, the tiredness written all over her face.

“I was training, and it was way too hot out there...” Ria replied, dropping her head as if pretending to be dead on the spot, clearly trying to avoid more questions.

“Ria,” I said as I took a seat beside her.

Ria remained silent.

“Answer me.”

“... I’m way too sleepy to talk right now.”

“Before I kill you—”

“Talk to me later,” Ria interrupted in a grumpy tone, rubbing the dark circles beneath her eyes as she stood up from her seat.

“

Oh—!

”

At that moment, a voice echoed from the far end of the corridor.

“You were here, Chairman~!” Bell said.

General Bell appeared, his division gathered behind him and radiating confidence that bordered on arrogance, and the sight gave me an irrational impulse to commit murder, but I met him without letting it show.

“General Bell,” I replied.

“Yes, Chairman—I have a matter I need to speak with you about~”

“Speak.”

Then Bell’s brow twitched ever so slightly, as if my tone had not landed the way he preferred.

"Well... anyhow, I was informed that the location has been identified~"

“The location?”

“Yes, it was none other than Bolgen here who uncovered one of the Scarletborn’s hideouts,” Bell replied, giving a hearty laugh and clapping the knight behind him on the shoulder in exaggerated compliment.

“Hold position. Surveillance takes precedence over advance,” I replied.

"No, no~" Bell said, shaking his head. "No, no~ No, no~"

Shake, shake. Shake, shake. Shake, shake

"I'm afraid Her Majesty already issued the command herself~" Bell added, shaking his head several more times with a smile tugging at his lips.

“... Her command?”

“Yes,” Bell replied, clearing his throat and crossing his arms, lowering his voice as if playing the part of a man with authority. “This isn’t a matter open for discussion, but a formal notification, Chairman Deculein.”

When Bell declared that his words were not for discussion but served as a notice, I looked at him without a word—no reaction, no emotion, just cold indifference.

However, as the silence stretched on, Bell began to look slightly discomposed.

“

Ahem.

Anyhow.”

Instead, Bell pressed for the activation of my death variable.

“Going forward, I’d appreciate it if you didn’t speak to me as though I were beneath you~ Mutual respect would serve us both better, and I hope that is something you keep in mind~

Hehehe.

”

I watched Bell walk down the corridor, laughing under his breath like a rat who’d just found cheese while his Elite Guard swarmed behind him like parasites, and Ria stood off to the side pretending not to watch though her eyes said otherwise.

“...

Whoops

,” Ria murmured as she squeezed her eyes shut and melted back into the couch.

I walked down the corridor in silence because Bell wasn’t worth the anger and was just another worm beneath my feet as good as dead, and if my future held death in the near term, I would make sure his came first.

Private room : Deculein

And the moment my hand closed around the doorknob of my private room...

Pzzzt—

A trace flared like a spark from a live wire.

Creeeeeak—

I opened the door without a sound and glanced around the room, knowing it wasn’t difficult for someone to sneak in here or take a copy of the classified documents I’d left organized in the drawer, because that was the point and I had steered it that way.

“... But.”

Someone had definitely broken into my room, and I swept the space with my

Sharp Eyesight

, but the few traces that remained didn’t belong to whom I’d expected.

“Ria,” I muttered.

Why should she?

I thought.

***

Bell charged ahead like a storm set loose, and although his methods were brutal, the outcome spoke for itself. Every location Bell discovered turned out to be a Scarletborn base, and when he captured a real Scarletborn alive, even Sophien acknowledged the significance of his findings.

However, every operation Deculein conducted ended in failure, whether their intel had been compromised or the enemy had anticipated him, and even the plan to cut off the underground water sources was thwarted by a sudden attack.

As a result...

—

Your Majesty, there are rumors circulating that you mean to remove Deculein from your side.

Deculein’s position in the desert had weakened enough to raise concern from even Keiron.

—

How long will Your Majesty continue to subject him to such humiliation?

"

Hmph

," Sophien murmured, gritting her teeth, glaring at Keiron. "And what business is it of yours? You know as well as I do—he’s failing at his duties."

—

You are aware, Your Majesty—it is the Scarletborn themselves who are feeding Bell achievements he didn’t earn himself.

What Keiron had said was true—Bell was running wild like a beast off its leash, and the Scarletborn kept feeding him bait, setting the stage for Deculein’s downfall while hoping the incompetent Bell would rise in his place.

“It is not yours to question as it is my will. Now shut your mouth—and get lost.”

As Sophien raised her hand and waved it toward Keiron...

—

Your Majesty, if this continues, even Deculein may come to harbor hatred for you.

Keiron spoke as if he had made up his mind not to hesitate.

“... What did you just say?” Sophien replied, her expression hardening. “How dare you say that, who do you think harbors hatred for whom—”

—

Your Majesty, since that day, Deculein has not once come to seek your presence.

For a moment, Sophien fell silent, her words dying in her throat as if a blade had caught there.

—

Do you still believe, Your Majesty, that Deculein might be the one to come forth, lower his head, admit his faults, and once more stand by your side?

Something clenched in Sophien’s throat, and her chest burned as if her heart had caught fire, producing a bizarre ache of suffering that was impossible to ignore.

—

Your Majesty, you know well that it cannot be so because Deculein may obey your commands, but he is not one to bend the spine of his own convictions.

Sophien remained silent.

—

Furthermore, Deculein is a true noble—one who places dignity above all else.

Keiron continued.

—

However, Your Majesty, what you are crushing now is none other than his pride.

“Why don’t you shut that—”

—

Your Majesty, you are doing the one thing he could never bring himself to accept.

Hearing Keiron tell her she had done the one thing Deculein could never accept, something twisted inside Sophien’s chest as she felt blamed for more than she meant.

—

Your Majesty, I ask only out of curiosity.

Deculein has already done the one thing I could never tolerate, tearing into my heart as if it meant nothing,

Sophien thought.

—

Whether it is Your Majesty who is the one casting Deculein aside.

Deculein stood before me, spoke nothing but lies... and used Yulie as an excuse to humiliate me beneath his heel.

But why...

—

Or if it is Your Majesty who is being cast aside by Deculein remains uncertain.

... Why must Keiron be the one to speak words that lead me to suffering?