“General Aishe, how long do you intend to keep them locked up!”
At the Evil Race Army’s fortress, Camille, clad in an Evil Race Army officer’s uniform, slammed his desk as he confronted the woman. Aishe, who had greeted him in the office, crossed her long legs on the sofa and returned a condescending gaze.
“Indeed, I entrusted that woman to you, but she is also a prisoner of the Evil Race Army. You should be aware of the danger that woman poses. You must understand that such a dangerous individual cannot be allowed to roam freely near important figures.”
“Guh…”
Camille groaned and gritted his teeth at Aishe’s mocking tone.
Camille had used his status to protect a fallen “enemy” on the battlefield. However, he also understood Aishe’s point that an enemy could not be easily released near Camille, who held a certain position.
Camille was an important figure in the Evil Race Nation. However, Aishe’s attitude showed no intention of respecting him. Despite being a general, she did not bother to correct her language, and her contempt for him was evident.
“The wounds have been closed with Magic. Since there were no injuries reaching the internal organs, she shouldn’t die. …I also have things I want to ask her.”
A dark light flickered in Aishe’s golden eyes as she muttered in a resentful tone.
The human girl who used the techniques of Aishe’s only family member—her sister who was supposed to have died on the battlefield. Where did she learn those techniques? What connection did she have with her dead sister?
If possible, she wanted to torture her and get answers immediately, but with such severe injuries, she wouldn’t regain consciousness for a few more days.
Who was that girl? Camille said she was an Adventurer from Cutlass Town, but how could a mere girl who had lived for only a dozen years gain such power? How did an ordinary human acquire the strength to rival Aishe, who had trained for over fifty years?
She knew it well because she had crossed blades with her directly. She couldn’t appraise her on the spot, but the strength she felt on her skin was in a realm where she could even defeat Aishe.
Aishe certainly saw the shadow of her sister behind that strength.
“If you want to hear from her, you should first make sure she can talk properly. She won’t be able to speak if she’s about to die.”
“…………”
Camille glared, while Aishe met his gaze with icy, dark eyes.
“Then do as you please…”
Aishe reluctantly agreed, perhaps thinking rationally and finding merit in his words.
That girl should have been killed on the spot. That thought hadn’t changed. However, Camille’s intervention had resulted in an opportunity to learn the true nature of the technique the girl had used.
She wouldn’t thank him for it, but she might as well leave her in Camille’s care for a while.
(…But I should drive in a wedge or two.)
“Oh, and take the Dwarf woman you captured with you. She’s that girl’s ‘friend,’ right? They will be here in a few days. You’d better come up with an excuse that they can accept by then. Right, Prince?”
“…Understood.”
Camille replied curtly, suppressing his emotions at Aishe’s sarcastic and contemptuous words.
As Aishe’s words and actions showed, Camille’s influence within the Evil Race Nation was weak. It would have been different if his mother were alive, but there was no point in dwelling on a future that could never be.
Camille was a child of the Evil King. However, the King’s child did not necessarily become the next King.
His mother was a human from the Calfaan Empire, and after her death, his father was devastated and lost the will to live. If he had remained in the Evil Race Nation, Camille, who had human blood, would have been killed by those seeking the next throne.
But even if he fled to Cutlass Town to survive, Camille could not escape the fate of the Evil Race.
Leaving Aishe’s office, Camille walked alone down a dark corridor where no sunlight penetrated.
The fact that the people Aishe mentioned were coming here meant that his father, the Evil King, was likely nearing death. By saving the two prisoners this time, Camille’s position would only worsen.
It could be taken as an act of betrayal against the Evil Race, and he could be detained without undergoing the “Ceremony of Selection,” and imprisoned until his death.
“…………”
Why was he so determined to save her? Camille had justified it by saying that he owed her a debt, but there was certainly an unspoken feeling beyond that.
—Thud.
“!?”
At that moment, he felt a strong impact along with a faint noise. What had happened? Had someone trying to take his life infiltrated the place? He had trained in Cutlass Town and become Rank 4, so no one could easily attack him, but Camille regretted not staying with his attendants.
He hadn’t yet caught sight of the figure, but if it was an enemy, they were a highly skilled Assassin who hadn’t made him aware of their presence. Camille threw an elbow strike behind him. However, the Assassin seemed to have anticipated even that, deflecting the powerful elbow strike with their bare hand and diving into his chest as if slipping under his arm, kicking Camille’s chin with their knee.
His vision blurred as if light scattered in the back of his eyes, and Camille lost his balance and fell backward, his throat stomped on before he could make a sound.
(Barefoot!?)
Why barefoot? Judging from the size of the foot, he wondered if the attacker was a woman, and as he tried to confirm their appearance, the Assassin spoke to him.
“Since when did you become the enemy, Camille?”
(Aria!?)
That girl was someone he had met in town, and they had worked together as companions until they achieved their respective goals.
When he first met her, he was surprised because she resembled his mother with her pinkish-red hair. But he felt embarrassed to tell her that, so he told her that it was the same hair color as the woman his father had once loved, who was his mother’s mother.
He had been working to free Aria, so why was Aria here? Aria had been seriously injured and was supposed to be in the dungeon. Even if she had woken up, how did she escape from the dungeon?
Aria called Camille an “enemy.” That wasn’t true. That wasn’t the case. Even as he tried to speak, his throat was stomped on, and the cold gaze looking down at Camille and the line of fire from the Crossbow aimed at his face didn’t waver in the slightest.
“――……”
“……I see. So, you were the one who saved me? Then I thank you.”
Aria, who said that so easily, removed her foot and Crossbow and offered her hand to the fallen Camille, as if she had seen and understood something.
“……A, ah.”
Camille took the offered hand and stood up, his back drenched in sweat. Aria had easily lowered her weapon, but if he had looked away even slightly or taken any hostile action, he would have been killed on the spot. At least, he felt that much killing intent.
Aria was Aria no matter where she was. Even if she was stripped of all her weapons and in the most desperate situation, she wouldn’t change, and Camille felt a strength to live that he couldn’t obtain himself in that figure.
“Aria… for now, come to the room where we are.”
＊＊＊
“This isn’t very tasty.”
Jesha, who had finally been released from the prison, tore off a piece of roasted lizard placed on the table and poured fruit wine straight from the bottle into her throat. She had been locked in the dungeon for several days without food or drink, but her stomach and intestines didn’t seem to be particularly weakened, which was typical of a Dwarf.
Even if some poison had been added, Jesha probably wouldn’t be affected. I didn’t drink any alcohol, ate only a small amount of meat and stir-fried succulents, and drank water.
“First, I’ll return your equipment. However, I couldn’t retrieve your weapons…”
When Camille said that after we had mostly finished eating, the human and Dark Elf parent and child I had met in the desert before… the daughter, had a terrible scowl on her face as she brought our equipment.
“The Dwarf’s equipment is leather armor and boots, but the metal fittings are damaged, so you might not be able to use them. Yours are boots and gauntlets… and I took off the tights because they were torn and looked like they would get tangled.”
“I see.”
The one who took off my equipment was the daughter… I think her name was Iseru, and she was probably a little older than me. What Iseru said she took off was a thin pair of tights woven with Mithril fibers that Gelf had made for me.
Even though it’s made of Mithril fibers… it’s not entirely made of Mithril. Only about 30% of it is Mithril, and the rest is silk, so it should be more durable than regular tights, but it seems it was torn in that battle.
“I… I still haven’t forgiven you.”
“Well, I guess you can wear it…”
Though damaged in places, the leather seemed usable since it was made from the sturdy hide of an Armored Dragon. Jesha immediately stripped off her ragged clothes and began to change.
I also put on the gauntlets and gloves, pulled out a spare pair of tights from my Shadow Storage, and started to put them on, raising one leg onto a chair. Camille averted his eyes for some reason.
The equipment was back, but Jesha’s Two-Handed Axe and the weapon I received from Galbas were gone. Were they stored somewhere, or had someone stolen them? I didn’t particularly care about material things… but I felt a little displeased.
“I feel bad for you two, but I can’t let you go back right away. You’re treated as prisoners of the Evil Race Army, so I can’t let you move freely.”
Camille spoke as we finished changing. Jesha remained seated on the sofa where she had eaten, while I stood and turned to face him.
“Also, Aria looks like she could escape on her own, but please stop her for now. To return to Cutlass Town from here, you’d have to cross the desert for over a month, or cross the Lace Veil ruins. Iseru should know a route that bypasses the outer edges of the ruins, so I’ll have the three of you escape towards Cutlass before any harm comes to you.”
“What do you mean!?”
Iseru raised her voice, interrupting Camille’s words as the topic of our escape came up.
“What about you and Father, Camille-sama!? Those people are coming, aren’t they? Then I’ll stay too!”
“Hold your tongue, Iseru. You will leave here with the two of them. It’s not certain that Camille-sama and I will die if we stay here. We intend to find a way to survive by giving up our rights.”
Kadri, who had been silent until his daughter started making a fuss, rebuked Iseru. But perhaps sensing from his words that they were prepared to die, Iseru became even more agitated.
“Then let’s escape together! We shouldn’t have to deal with those people! Even if the Calfaan Empire is no good, there should be places to escape to in the Ganzaal Union or the Justa Empire!”
“Iseru… it’s difficult for us Dark Elves to live in other lands.”
Camille spoke in a tone as if he had bitten into something bitter upon hearing Iseru’s words.
“You know how difficult it is for Dark Elves to live in human lands. Even if we live in hiding, they will surely come after us until they confirm my death. That would cause trouble for the people living there too.”
What Camille was saying was correct. I had heard that even my master, who was just a simple warrior, had gone through considerable hardship to leave the Evil Race.
Hiding from both the Evil Race and humans, living in the Underworld, and constantly exposed to danger, my master, despite possessing such great power, overdid it and ended up with a body that couldn’t fight for long.
I hadn’t heard the reason, but from the conversations so far, I knew that Camille held a position of some status within the Evil Race. Because of that, there would be a life-or-death struggle with those who were coming.
“At worst, I’ll try to fight and find a way to survive. It’s difficult for me now, but you alone should be able to live even in occupied Cutlass. Please understand…”
“No…”
Iseru lost her words at Camille’s words. Placing a hand on Iseru’s shoulder, Camille turned to face me.
“I should be able to protect you for a while. The Evil Race clan leaders will be arriving soon. There will be discussions at that time, and I won’t have time to deal with you. Strive to recover your strength so that you can escape during that confusion.”
“…Understood.”
From Camille’s expression, I felt that he was prepared for his own death as well. The Camille who had talked with Ron late at night about the coexistence of the Empire and the Evil Race was no longer there.
I nodded at Camille’s words, while organizing my thoughts on what would be the best course of action from now on.
Two days after releasing the prisoners, the leaders of three clans arrived at the fort from the Evil Race Nation, each accompanied by a dozen or so subordinates. As Camille had predicted, the Evil King’s death was imminent, and the leaders of the influential clans had come to this fort to decide on the next Evil King.
Basically, the Evil King was not hereditary but was chosen from among the leaders of several clans. However, from several generations ago, when the fighting with the humans intensified, hereditary succession had been carried out to unite the entire Evil Race.
Camille was the only child of the current Evil King.
Originally, Camille should have become the next Evil King, but the other clans did not recognize Camille, who had human blood, and with the Evil King’s will no longer reaching them, they brought out the old ritual of selecting the Evil King from the past, the “Ceremony of Selection.”
Why did the leaders of the influential clans come to this fort to perform it?
It was not because Camille was in this fort, but because the basement of this fort was an ancient Dungeon.
The “Ceremony of Selection” — was for the influential clans to send out several warriors and bring back proof from the deepest part of the Dungeon. It was not known what that proof was, but it was said to be something that could be recognized at a glance.
However, simply bringing it back quickly was not victory. This was a “killing match” with the prestige of the clans at stake, disguised as a ritual.
“Now then, everyone, you know the reason why we have gathered in this place.”
The Elder of the Magic Clan — Ergrim.
The Dark Elf old man, who seemed to be over a thousand years old, grinned with his wrinkled face.
“Indeed. We have been waiting for this moment for many years.”
The Chief of the Yoma Clan — Charleschan.
The bewitching beauty, dressed in a gorgeous kimono-like costume, smiled as if hiding her mouth with a fan.
“Our three clans… and General Aishe have also declared their participation with their subordinates.”
The Chief of the Gouma Clan — Dowhill.
The middle-aged man, reminiscent of a veteran warrior, nodded heavily with his arms crossed.
“That’s right. There are things I can’t yield either. I’m sorry to the three of you, but I’ve also raised my hand. Of course… it could become a pipe dream if that person doesn’t participate.”
Aishe, receiving the sharp gazes of the three clan leaders, turned her gaze to the boy in the back of the conference room with a distorted smile, and the other three also looked at him with snake-like eyes.
“…I don’t intend to run away either.”
Camille, accompanied only by Kadri, nodded quietly.
Even though they brought out the old ritual, not all of those who supported Camille agreed with it.
There were clans in the Evil Race Nation that were not Dark Elves. There were also clans that were good at production and not suited for rough work. They respected the current Evil King who had welcomed them, and they hoped that his son, Camille, would become king.
In addition, there were neutral moderates who did not want war with the humans. Therefore, the only way to convince them was to have Camille himself participate in the “Ceremony of Selection,” and if Camille refused to do so, they even plotted to rebel and eliminate Camille and the king.
Camille was aware of this. That was why he could not overlook the harm that would befall those who followed him.
“Hoho… Lord Camille seems to be confident.”
“Hohoho, that’s very reassuring.”
“I will have the honor of confirming His Highness’s power with my own body.”
“Ah…”
Each clan could participate in the Ceremony of Selection with ten members. They were watching each other, but they were probably also considering breaking the agreement by having their watchers participate.
Camille’s forces consisted only of Camille himself and Kadri, who was Rank 3.
There was no possibility that Camille could win with that much force. If there was one, it would be for Camille to challenge each clan leader to a one-on-one fight and defeat them, but each of them had Rank 5 power, and their subordinates would not allow that situation.
In short, it was a torturous killing. Even so, it was not just a matter of killing, but the power of speech afterwards would also change depending on which clan killed him. Already in this place, a secret struggle had begun over who would kill Camille.
But at that time —
“–I’ve heard the story.”
The voice of a “girl” that should not have existed echoed in the large underground conference room.
Without intimidation, without discomfort, just a voice that simply echoed, no one could ignore it, and in the momentarily silent room, the Elder of the Magic Clan, Ergrim, threw a needle-like Hidden Weapon at Camille.
“–!?”
As the clan’s subordinates were in shock, slender fingers plucked that needle out of the air.
The Pink-Haired Girl, who appeared as if seeping out of Camille’s Shadow, looked around with emotionless eyes and threw the needle away as if nothing had happened.
“I will be Camille’s warrior.”
Group battle. A killing match within the Dungeon.
Can Aria, who threw herself into the demon’s cave, survive?
Next time: Ceremony of Selection