Chapter 718

"Alright. Let’s go, Ian." Thesaya sprang to her feet at once.

The moment Ian stopped and turned back toward her, he flicked the cigarette away.

"You’re staying in the camp."

"

Huh

? Why?" Thesaya staggered slightly, eyes widening. Even so, she caught the cigarette on reflex.

Ian snorted and shifted his gaze toward the bed behind her. "I know you’re planning to eavesdrop on my conversation with the general."

"N-No, I—?" Thesaya started, her shoulders twitching.

At the same time, the belt lying on the bed slid straight into Ian’s hand.

Thunk—

It was the belt with the divine sword secured in its sheath. When Ian took it and turned back, Thesaya averted her eyes and smacked her lips.

"Alright, fine. Of course I’m curious about what you’ll talk about."

"You’d be better off worrying about your mage friends instead," Ian replied flatly as he wrapped the belt around his waist. "At this point, they might already be corpses, kicked to death by Moro."

"H-Hey, come on. There’s no way. They promised to observe from a distance, and I even sent Half-Ear along to keep watch. That guy wouldn’t just stand around watching Moro go on a rampage," Thesaya said, waving her hand dismissively, then abruptly stopped.

She turned back to Ian and frowned. "...Actually, he might."

Only then did it seem to dawn on her that Nasser was a purifier from the Great Church. Even if he didn’t show it around Ian or Thesaya, he was hardly the sort to harbor any fondness for mages.

"Pass the message along that I’ll be meeting him with General Gelud. If there’s time left, take care of the camp too."

With that, Ian finished gearing up and resumed walking, turning his head toward Mev.

"Let’s go."

"Hey, wait. Why do I always get stuck with the annoying work?" Thesaya muttered under her breath, extending the hand holding the cigarette.

Mev nodded and turned.

Ian did not spare Thesaya a glance as he stepped out of the tent.

Whoosh—

A pleasantly cool breeze greeted them, revealing the camp spread out under gentle light. The sky remained blanketed in clouds, but it no longer looked like it would snow again.

"I will escort you," Mev said with a solemn expression as she turned aside.

The camp had been set up directly in front of the towering fortress. Ian followed without hesitation, never once glancing back at the castle itself.

"Demigod!"

"Great Warrior."

Barbarian warriors wrapped in bandages slowed and stopped as they passed, bowing their heads one after another.

Their faces were visibly exhausted, which was only natural. A single day was far too short to shake off the aftereffects of such a prolonged, brutal battle.

Unless one was an apostle, even those blessed by the gods had to pay a price for exceeding their limits for so long.

"Don’t worry about anything else and get some rest. As I said before, alcohol is forbidden for the time being. Make sure you eat your meals properly," Ian said as he passed them, not missing a single one.

The prohibition on drinking was meant for their recovery. Like most people in this world, the barbarians believed moderate alcohol aided healing, but none of them dared to argue with Ian’s order.

Of course, the greatest aid to the legion’s recovery lay elsewhere.

Fwoosh—

At the center of the camp, the brazier was already burning brightly once more with sacred flame. Warmth and divinity spread outward, seeping into every corner.

That was likely why, despite the chill in the air, the camp itself felt almost comfortably warm.

After giving the brazier behind them a glance, Ian turned his gaze forward again.

"Has the Saintess awakened yet?" he asked.

Walking ahead of him, Mev nodded. "Fortunately, she regained consciousness a few hours ago."

She glanced back at Ian, her voice lowering. "She hasn’t appeared outside even once, though. Only Priest Miguel has been going in and out."

"Is something wrong?" Reading the concern in her eyes, Ian lowered his voice to match hers.

Mev hesitated for a moment, then gave a small nod. "I was told you needed a bit more rest. But judging by Miguel’s expression and the look in his eyes... that may indeed be the case."

Ian’s gaze sharpened slightly.

Even while fighting the avatar, he had never stopped keeping an eye on the battlefield. Because of that, he knew exactly how far Cherwyn had pushed herself. Still, he hadn’t believed her life had truly been in danger.

"I should check on her myself."

Perhaps the cost had been greater than he’d expected.

As if in agreement, Mev gave a small nod and stepped out of the camp with him. The towering inner fortress and its sharply pointed gate loomed closer.

Step—

The two guards on watch moved aside in unison. Each lowered their head slightly and struck the ground with the shaft of their spear, held upright before their chest.

"So I really am being treated like the supreme commander," Ian clicked his tongue as he passed between them and entered the fortress.

Walking beside him, Mev smiled. "It’s only natural to show proper respect to the Guardian of the North."

"Then I suppose there’s no real need for me to command them at all." At Ian’s casual remark, Mev cast him a glance.

Ian merely shrugged and looked toward the brazier wagon visible beyond. Sacred flames flickered, radiating warmth that would naturally spread upward through the fortress’s structure.

"

Gasp

!"

As Mev guided him toward the side stairs, the soldiers they passed sucked in sharp breaths and hurriedly pressed themselves against the walls, heads bowed without exception.

This is starting to feel like some kind of inspection tour...

Ian sighed inwardly but showed no sign of it as he passed them by. In truth, this was something he would have had to face sooner or later.

"Even if you don’t command them, I have no complaints, Ian," Mev said after they had climbed partway up the staircase running along the wall.

By then, the surrounding presence had faded. Perhaps that was why her tone returned to its usual familiarity.

"I’ll simply follow your will."

"That’s a relief. I wasn’t eager to argue with you about it," Ian replied with a quiet laugh.

Mev looked at him for a moment as they continued climbing, then said, "You have another, better plan to make the archduke pay the price, don’t you?"

One corner of Ian’s mouth lifted as he nodded. "I don’t know if it’s better, exactly. But it’s not as though I have no plan."

"I see. All right, then." Mev nodded readily and fell silent, as though that settled the matter.

That alone was enough to make Ian’s smile deepen slightly.

"That’s unexpected."

"What is?"

"I thought you might want me to take control of the North."

"It would be a lie to say I don’t want that at all. But..." Mev trailed off, hesitating for a moment.

Ian glanced sideways at her, his gaze stirring faintly.

Unfamiliar emotions flickered through her green eyes.

"You’re going to become something far greater than that."

At her murmured words, spoken almost to herself, Ian’s head tilted slightly.

That was all. Mev turned her gaze away and stepped off the staircase into the hallway branching out from it.

Ian said nothing further as he watched her red hair sway ahead of him. It wasn’t only because of the footsteps echoing through the corridor.

"Your Excellency!"

From ahead, a commander supporting himself with a crutch limped toward them. It was Lucas, who had naturally fallen in with the garrison forces.

"It feels too soon for word of my arrival to have spread," Ian said, looking at the face half-hidden beneath bandages.

Lucas stopped at a respectful distance and gave an awkward smile. "I heard you had awakened, so I had soldiers standing by in advance. I asked them to pass along the news once you entered."

"So you went to the trouble again...."

As he replied, Ian thought of Askel, the centurion who had rushed to attend him the moment he woke and had even prepared the bathwater.

Honestly, that one too....

He had vanished in the blink of an eye. It seemed he’d gone around spreading the news everywhere.

"Since you’re with the Vice Commander, I assume you’ve already heard," Lucas continued, limping along beside Mev as she kept walking without slowing. "General Gelud is waiting. He was likely planning to proceed with all the formalities right away—"

"I didn’t come here to see General Gelud." Ian cut him off and turned back toward the hesitating Lucas. "Before that, I’m here to see General Harald."

"I see. Yes, that would be the proper order, after all," Lucas replied, blinking in surprise. His expression made it clear he hadn’t grasped Ian’s true intent at all, and Ian did not bother correcting that misunderstanding.

"I hear there are wounded whose survival is still uncertain," Ian said.

Lucas nodded. "Yes. Those injured by the creatures of the void. Those vile tentacles didn’t just cause pain and wounds."

He pressed his lips together and let out a long breath through his nose before continuing, "Shamefully enough, I was wounded and withdrawn before that, so I escaped the worst of it...."

"How many?" Ian asked bluntly.

Lucas tilted his head slightly, then looked back at him. "Just over a hundred, based on what we’ve confirmed so far."

"I see."

More than I expected.

"I’ll take a look tonight," Ian added as he looked at Lucas.

"Truly?" Lucas asked, eyes widening.

Ian nodded. "If it’s contaminated magic or chaos seeping in, my familiar might be able to help."

He left unsaid that he himself might be of help as well.

Lucas’s expression shifted. "Your familiar, your Excellency? You don’t mean that—"

"Not Moro. Another one."

"So you have more than one familiar."

Only then did Lucas nod in understanding, letting out a quiet exclamation. A faint smile formed on his lips.

"Understood. I’ll pass the word and gather everyone in one place."

"Make sure everyone hears it, even the mercenaries. There may be some hiding their symptoms," Ian added, angling his head slightly toward the rear. "Immediately."

"Yes. At once, Your Excellency. Thank you—truly!" Lucas struck his fist against his chest in salute, then turned. He paused only briefly before hurrying off.

Ian did not spare him a glance. It wasn’t only because the uneven footsteps were receding noisily down the hallway.

Mev was watching the side of his face with an unreadable expression.

When her gaze did not waver, Ian said, "Save that look for after the wounded are treated. We don’t yet know if they can all be saved."

"That doesn’t matter. What matters more is that you were thinking about it at all."

Her reply was enough to make Ian pause again. The curve of Mev’s eyes had softened as she looked at him.

Ian gestured forward with his chin. "It looks like we’re here."

Large doors lined the hallway on both sides now, spaced at regular intervals. Each likely belonged to a commanding officer. Only the door farther ahead was guarded.

"...Yes." Mev turned away, her expression returning to solemnity as if she had never smiled, and stepped forward.

The guard did not block them this time either. The moment he confirmed Ian’s identity, he stepped aside and bowed.

Creeeak—

Mev opened the door without hesitation.

Ian moved up behind her and glanced inside. "I’ll go in alone."

Mev stepped aside without a word.

The room beyond was spacious, befitting a Northern fortress, but rough and unadorned. At its center stood a single bed, and lying upon it was Harald.

"A-Agent of the Saint!"

Harald turned his head weakly, then widened his eyes when he saw Ian entering the room. He hurriedly tried to push himself upright, clearly intending to climb down and kneel.

"Stop. You’re in no condition for that," Ian said as the door closed.

Walking forward, his gaze swept over Harald’s exposed upper body. Thick bandages wrapped him from shoulder to torso, with dark, dried blood staining his side and chest. The stump of his severed left arm was no different.

"Thank you for your consideration." Harald paused and bowed his head, his voice and expression far more subdued than before.

"Looks like your wounds are healing, at least," Ian said as he stopped beside the bed.

When he shifted his gaze slightly, a chair near the desk slid across the floor and came to rest behind him.

"The Blazing Goddess saw fit to grant warmth even to a sinner such as myself," Harald said without lifting his head.

He looked noticeably thinner and older than he had just two days earlier. That change was clearly not due to physical injury alone.

"I was told you requested to see me again." Ian nodded and sat down.

Harald answered at once. "Yes, Agent of the Saint. I wished to offer my apology and my gratitude formally. And..."

He hesitated, lips tightening, before continuing, "Shameless as it may be, there is also something I wish to beg of you."

"Let’s consider the pleasantries settled and move on to the last part. Speak," Ian replied evenly.

Harald pressed his lips together, then dropped to his knees atop the bed.