Nighttime. The location was a forest near the Cartaith gates.
I had timed the plan for somewhere between three and four o'clock in the morning.
"I'm heading out for a bit."
I suited up in the equipment that Rauno had prepared—the kind worn by Cartaith soldiers—and made my way toward the gates. That was what I told the knights, soldiers, and my companions as I rose to my feet.
The gear was well-worn, with scratches and a few torn spots here and there.
Maxim looked worried, but Damian waved me off.
"Are you really sure about this? You're going in alone—how could that possibly be enough...?"
"Shouldn't it be fine? I mean, I've got that thing too."
"That thing" referred to the letter in my hand.
Rauno had forged a Cartaith order document for me. The formatting was immaculate—even the Successive Heads would find it proper. It was suspiciously well done.
I had wanted to ask where he'd gotten something like that, but Rauno wouldn't answer. He probably couldn't tell me.
Rauno himself was among the group hidden away in their own sets of equipment.
"All I need to do is get inside. There's no need to force the gates open from within. In Ralque's case, he apparently had the woman inside forge some documents and obtained official paperwork that way."
It sounded like Ralque had requested an audience, been refused, then gradually expanded his influence by charming a woman inside the castle, eventually using official procedures as cover to infiltrate.
Is that really acceptable, Cartaith? The thought crossed my mind, but it took time for documents to be formally recognized, and once approval was granted, Cartaith simply carried it out. That was just how they operated.
At best, you could call it thorough. At worst, they had abandoned all personal responsibility and independent thought. The biggest reason Cartaith had been able to cause so much suffering for Banseim lay in that very thoroughness. They would carry out even unreasonable orders simply because they were orders.
These people were out of their minds.
I activated my Skills—Dimension and Real Spec. I mapped out the three-dimensional terrain around me, and information more detailed than what the Spec itself could provide flooded into my mind.
Where the soldiers were stationed, which directions they were looking...
With that information in mind, I made my way toward the section of the wall that fell within the blind spots. Once I reached the wall, I activated the Seventh Generation's Skill.
A nostalgic voice came from the Jewel—the Seventh Generation.
"That's right, this was how I used to infiltrate fortresses. I'd hurl explosives from inside to destroy the gates. Even if they're strong against attacks from outside, they're often vulnerable from within. And when even that wasn't enough, I'd slip inside and rig explosives all over."
It sounded like they had planted bombs throughout the fortress and castle grounds, destroying weapons and facilities as they went. They'd slip away at a leisurely pace while the garrison panicked, then take the chaos-ridden fortress by storm.
The simplest approach, apparently, was to take out the gate guards and throw the gates wide open to let your allies pour in.
It was something I never knew about—the Seventh Generation being a bombing fanatic was news to me.
Apparently, in the process of handling firearms, they'd also acquired a decent network for procuring gunpowder.
"Phew… [Warp]."
As I fixed my eyes on the wall, activating the Skill hit me with a brutal wave of fatigue. I gritted my teeth and endured, and the scenery before my eyes shifted in an instant.
I quickly hid myself, watching the movements of the soldiers around me as I searched for someone who looked like a squad leader.
"…There."
I didn't use a weapon. I rushed over to the man who appeared to be the squad leader with a panicked air.
"Sir! Th-this is terrible!"
I put on an act of gasping for breath in panic. In truth, I was genuinely tired from using the Skill. If I used this Warp consecutively, twice was my limit in my current state. Even with breaks, maybe three to five times during combat? Either way, it was exhausting.
Watching from inside the Jewel, Mireia spoke up.
"Lyle, that acting was a little underwhelming. You should have looked positively green in the face. When humans really put their mind to it, they can do anything, you know."
Even as she gave me her critique, I addressed the squad leader, who was looking at me with growing suspicion.
"You're not from our unit, are you? What unit on earth are you from—"
"There's an intruder! Someone has broken into the castle!"
My ragged appearance and the news of an intruder—that was enough for the squad leader to forgo verifying my unit and instead press me for information.
"What is this! Allowing intruders to infiltrate—this castle of Kartafus is—"
May was giggling softly.
"It's funny, isn't it? Even a fortress can be surprisingly easy to get into. Besides, it's rather strange to let Raluk slip through and then react like that."
Then the people outside made their move. They raised torches and began making their presence known from within the trees.
The area around the castle gates erupted into chaos in an instant.
"Captain! There's an armed group of at least a thousand outside!"
The man who appeared to be the squad leader responded exactly as drilled.
"Calm down! Wake up everyone who's sleeping, now! The rest of you, get to your positions! You there!"
"Yes, sir!"
Being pointed at, I gave my response.
"Go back to your unit immediately and report to your superiors! Have you relayed the information about the intruder? How many, and what did they look like?"
I promptly described the intruder I had prepared.
"Their hair and appearance were concealed by a mask, so it's unclear. However, the intruder wore a tank top on their upper body and carried a greatsword! We barely managed to drive them off, and I didn't pursue them in order to report immediately. I apologize!"
The man who appeared to be the captain seemed to take that description at face value. He muttered in disbelief at the idea of someone sneaking in while carrying a greatsword.
"No problem. If you'd been killed, it would have meant you never noticed the intruder. Go report immediately. Get to your post! Respond according to your training!"
Being well-practiced in drills, he moved swiftly to his position. He looked tense, but at least he was moving.
The Fifth Generation looked at those Kartafus soldiers and thought:
*...These are tough opponents in group combat. They don't panic and try to move according to their training. They lack flexibility, but that's exactly why the northern lords have their work cut out for them.*
I had seen an unexpectedly competent side of Kartafus, but they had completely missed me as an intruder.
"Well, I suppose it's time I got moving too."
Racing through the chaotic castle, I made my way toward the dungeon.
—Damian and the others had strapped torches to wooden stakes.
To give the impression of greater numbers, the knights and soldiers placed the real fighters up front and set torches in the back, where there were no actual troops.
Hoping that at least some of their enemies would overestimate their forces.
"So, the problem is time. It's a fortress city, so if things go south, soldiers from the surrounding area could converge on us in no time. Or rather, they'll decide whether to sortie based on whether they can count our numbers, and if word about that gets out, we're in trouble."
If the enemy knew there were only five hundred, they would have launched a sortie from the castle. But Damian had been explained by Rauno that if they showed any more than that, the castle's garrison would never move out.
Damian pushed his glasses up with a finger, catching the light on the lenses, while Maxim shouldered his spear and surveyed their surroundings.
"You sure talk a lot for someone who just slapped together a makeshift fort."
Operating wheeled platforms that could hardly even be called Golems, Damian had been assembling a hasty barricade.
He reinforced the gaps, creating a structure that could at least hold out for a little while.
"It's Laiel's plan. When magic starts flying, all you can do is hunker down and endure. Still… I wonder if it's working?"
Laiel had gone inside and, to stir up even more confusion, was spreading information about the intruders. Because of this, Ralque had decided to head for the Queen.
If word of an intruder reached them, the person Ralque would want to protect was, as things stood, the Queen. Treasure could be claimed later, but the Queen was necessary to secure his position.
Rauno wore a look of utter exasperation.
"That guy puts on that innocent face, but his schemes are absolutely ruthless. Going around telling everyone 'there's an intruder, there's an intruder'—the man's out of his mind. Striking right where they're heading for the Queen… The odds of them escaping are slim, yes, but if the enemy numbers are large, it becomes a huge problem."
Erhard, who had been listening nearby, shook his head.
"…He's really the type to do something like that? I thought he'd be more of a… fight-smart kind of guy?"
The rest of Erhard's companions nodded in agreement. To them, Damian spoke up.
"What are you talking about? It's Laiel! That Laiel fighting fair and square? Not a chance. Right now he's scattering false information and sowing chaos throughout the castle. He's the kind of man who'd do it all with a smile."
Maxim, too, nodded along as he gave his assessment of Laiel.
"Indeed, that's exactly the kind of thing Laiel would do. Well, I suppose we should just wait here. The real event shouldn't be until later, after all."
Erhard held his head in his hands, wondering if there was even more to come.
Clutching the order document, I went around showing it to the soldiers stationed along the corridor leading to the underground prison.
"You are to proceed immediately and eliminate the intruders!"
However, the female soldiers, all enthralled by Lalk, shook their heads as though my words meant nothing to them.
"The only one who can give us orders is Lord Lalk. We have no reason to follow any other command. Until we receive orders from Lord Lalk, we won't move—"
I pointed to a section of the order document. Rauno had verified Lalk's handwriting at the Guild. This was a copy of it.
"This is an order from Lord Lalk himself! Hurry!"
"I—I'm sorry! Everyone, move out!"
"Yes, sir!"
"Excuse me, I need to pass along orders to the people further in. Could you let me through?"
"The key is over there!"
The three female soldiers rushed off. I watched them go, then retrieved the key from the small table by the hastily installed iron grate.
The Third Generation spoke.
"Mmm, I suppose you could say love is blind, huh? Well, easy works for me. This might just be the Cartaphas temperament."
I unlocked the door and proceeded down the corridor, checking the surrounding layout. The reaction I'd sensed from Lalk before was gone. Previously, he had hidden his presence even from Skills detection. His disappearance had felt unnatural last time, but there was no such sign now.
"Haven't the orders reached them yet?"
Feeling that Lalk's movements were sluggish, I pressed on toward the underground prison. Along the way, I showed the order document to the female soldiers and knights stationed there as well, and had them let me pass. I even gave them orders to search for intruders while I was at it.
I didn't forget to give each of them different information as well.
Pressing forward, I headed toward the location where I detected a reaction and used the key to open the door. It was time for my audience with the Queen of Cartaphas.
Mireia spoke just before opening the thick wooden door.
"Lael, the other party is a prisoner. Even if the situation is terrible, you must treat her gently. We need the Northern great nation of Cartaphas on our side, after all. Even if she's covered in filth, hold her close. Even if she reeks terribly, never let your smile falter. This is where you show what you're made of."
What on earth did she think I was? I felt I ought to have a serious talk with Mireia about this sometime.
The Seventh Generation looked slightly taken aback.
"Well, it's not like she's been tortured beyond recognition or anything. Let's hope she's in somewhat better shape."
She was an important woman to Lael.
There shouldn't be any unnecessary injuries. With that hope, I opened the door.
—Erhard was fighting the enemy before him with the great sword [Gram] drawn from his back.
The group that had stormed the makeshift fortress had infiltrated from the town rather than the castle.
Around him, Erhard's companions had surrounded a lone swordsman wielding a great sword. There were also other intruders—robe-clad adventurers.
They gave off a different vibe from Baim, and even Erhard could tell they were local adventurers.
The opponent's black great sword, unlike Erhard's merely decorative one, appeared to be a genuine Mana Tool. Erhard's great sword was considerably chipped.
"You lot are really trying to get in my way, huh? I'll smash you all right here!"
When knights and soldiers moved to charge the swordsman with the black great sword, Maxim stepped in to stop them. He forcibly held them back and had everyone pull away.
Damian sent the Golem charging at the swordsman, but the Golem was torn to shreds like a scrap of paper.
Damian rested his staff on his shoulder.
"Well, didn't expect to run into you here. Let's see… what was your name again? Mark, was it?"
Number Three, Damian's maid, offered a correction.
"It is Lael, Master."
Number Two consoled Damian.
"That was a bit more this time, Master."
Two female adventurers lunged at Maxim. He deflected them with his spear and turned to the knights and soldiers from Galleria.
"The enemy is small in number! We'll handle them! Don't rush in blindly!"
He could spot Mana Tools among their equipment, just glancing here and there. That alone was enough for Maxim to judge that these were troublesome adventurers. He couldn't afford to waste the knights and soldiers he'd borrowed from Galleria, so he decided they would deal with the threat themselves.
Erhard glared at the swordsman before him — Larl — and readied his greatsword. Damian tried to step in to face Larl, but was held back by other adventurers.
"Come on, you're a protectee too, you know."
Erhard let Damian's mutter pass without acknowledgment, directing every nerve toward the swordsman in front of him.
Larl looked at Erhard like that and scoffed.
"What's with that equipment? Your sword looks like an iron bar. Your gear is totally unbalanced, and more importantly, you're just wearing a tank top? Are you kidding me?"
Larl was laughing, but Erhard didn't lower his guard or bother replying.
(This guy is stronger than me.)
Their builds were similar — both suited for wielding a greatsword. Physically, Erhard was no inferior.
But the quality of their equipment was worlds apart. Larl's clothing was high-end. The greatsword gripped in his hands was a Mana Tool.
The money poured into that equipment was plain to see.
"You two over there. Don't go dying on me until that person or the one with the spear over there comes to save you."
Damian said this while eyeing the three female adventurers surrounding him.
Maxim — the one with the spear, as he'd been called — had his spear raised against two opponents and didn't look like he could move anytime soon.
Erhard's companions spoke up.
"Erhard, this isn't looking good."
"I know! But if we run now, we'll get our backs slashed and it's over. Besides, we won't get anywhere if we don't fight people stronger than us!"
Fighting against a superior opponent is a great learning experience. While there was nothing wrong with adventuring seriously like Erhard and his companions, once a person reached a certain level of "growth," they would tend to hit a plateau. They could either take their time or gamble for a breakthrough...
Erhard seemed to have chosen the latter option.
"Didn't we all say we're tired of being looked down on? We're going to make her eat her words... that woman!"
"That woman" referred to Marianne, the guild employee who had deceived them. When he mentioned her, Lark burst out laughing.
"What's with you lot? Seriously working this hard just to get back at a woman? You're all such idiots. Women are a dime a dozen, you know."
Annoyed by his tone, Erhard re-gripped his sword handle. Just then, Lark stepped forward and swung his greatsword with one hand.
"Acting all cool when you're just small fry! Anyone who gets in my way dies! You lot, hurry up and kill everyone around you! Reinforcements from the city will be here any second! It's just this many of them. A unit from the city will—"
Before he could finish, Erhard's greatsword deflected Lark's blade. Sparks flew from the clash, and Erhard's sword was visibly worn down, its shape altered.
Then, protected by an Automaton and using a Golem to pin down three adventurers, Damian stepped up before Lark.
"I hate to break it to you, but no soldiers are coming out of the city. Your standing order is to prioritize protecting the royals, right? Besides, I hear they won't sortie unless they have a clear numerical advantage."
Maxim, who had just felled a female combatant with his spear butt, similarly positioned himself before Lark. His merciless assault on the woman looked quite different from the deference he showed toward Adele.
"I thought women who take up arms become warriors too, but these opponents lack any spirit. So this is the strength of those who've been charmed? Quite the opposite of Lord Lyle. His lovers, if anything, were terrifyingly motivated... Still, I suppose women should strive to be more like Lady Adele."
Lark looked around him.
No reinforcements were coming from the city. A few hundred troops would have been enough to turn the tide if they'd sallied forth immediately. But they hadn't.
"What's going on?! And what the hell are you lot doing?! Get up and fight!"
With the female adventurers unable to rise, Damian rested his staff on his shoulder and sighed.
"I'm disappointed in you, truly disappointed. I'd even prepared a strategy, thinking you'd put up a real fight, but we didn't even get a chance to show it off."
Lyle and the others had anticipated that Lark might do something troublesome. They'd deduced that the Queen was being held because she was resisting Lark's charm.
Therefore, they'd been worried he might use other women as shields. That was also why they'd caused a distraction inside the city.
Even for someone like Damian, they would hesitate to attack if maids or other non-combatants came rushing forward. Considering the future, they wanted to keep casualties to an absolute minimum.
As they were about to wrap things up quickly, Erhard stepped forward.
"Let me handle this. This guy... treated his comrades like tools. I can't forgive someone like that... because I was the same way."
Maxim tried to stop Erhard, but Damian held him back.
"I don't have any personal interest in this, but if you want to settle it yourself, go ahead. Just know that if it doesn't work out, we'll be taking Lark down whether you like it or not."
Surrounded on all sides, Lark had been considering cutting down the knights and soldiers to carve out an escape. But with Maxim circling around behind him, he had no choice but to face the Erhard standing right in front of him.
Damian had an Automaton prepare a wooden crate, settled himself onto it, and spoke.
"Honestly, what a buzzkill. I wanted to go inside the castle too. If it were Rael, he'd have made things far more entertaining, I'm sure."
With that, he lazily tossed out a "Well, go ahead and start," and let Erhard and Lark have at it.
All the while, his hand kept a firm grip on his staff, maintaining a stance from which he could kill Lark at any moment—