A village in Baim.
Banseim's army had flooded in and gathered the villagers in one place. Armed soldiers stood before the anxious crowd, having entered the village buildings one by one and stripped them of all manner of goods, piling everything up in a single spot.
It started with food, extended to decorations, and even weapons were being collected. In front of the villagers, young men who had taken up arms lay brutally slaughtered by the soldiers, placed where all could see. To drive home the futility of resistance, the villagers submitted in terror.
The baron who had raided the village was conferring with his vassal knights.
"How lax. Back in Banseim, they'd either resist far more fiercely or hand things over from the start."
The vassal knights looked at the cowering villagers.
"Their clothes, their possessions — none of this would be conceivable in Banseim. We heard the taxes were low, but it's as if there's no management whatsoever. And those young men who charged at us were utterly useless."
"They might actually think we're on the same level as Monsters. As expected of Baim, called the City of Adventurers. They understand nothing."
The soldiers were satisfied with the sheer volume of plundered supplies. Looking on, they held clothing and ornaments in their hands.
"Hey, trade me for that. My daughter's getting married soon, and I want to dress her in something nice."
"Then hand over the ornaments you've got. Those are a souvenir for my wife."
They were already treating the plundered items as their own, bartering among themselves. Some even began to quarrel, but the knights stepped in to mediate.
The baron surveyed the scene and scoffed.
"Load everything onto the wagons. Then — this village has served its purpose... burn it."
At those words, the villagers cried out.
"Wait! You've taken everything — why would you need to burn it—!"
An arrow had already pierced the chest of the villager who had stood to protest. A soldier near the baron had released it, and other soldiers were nocking their bows.
The baron laughed.
"So what? You're not my subjects. And I have no interest in you. Besides, with everything stolen from you, you won't be able to survive, will you? Consider it a mercy — I'll kill you right here."
Several of the knights prepared magic and set fire to the surrounding buildings. As the structures blazed from the spell, the villagers cried out in anguish. And then, without a shred of hesitation, the soldiers released their arrows.
However, most of the arrows had been aimed at men, and it was the women who had barely been struck. Seeing this, the baron shook his head and laughed.
"Honestly, you lot... Make sure you keep up. And don't go fighting among yourselves."
With that, he strode off toward the mountain of plundered supplies, laughing as he went. The soldiers raised their fists and shouted, then grabbed women by the hand and dragged them away—.
—Redant Fortress.
There, Broa had been seeing off the armies of the Landed Nobility as they departed since morning. His feelings were complicated. But he had no reason to stop them.
And it was hardly something uncommon on the battlefield—Banseim was no exception. If anything, Baim, a land that had never before been exposed to the ravages of war, was the perfect hunting ground for the lords.
If he tried too hard to intervene, there would likely be those who would go so far as to assassinate Broa to carry out their plans.
"Honestly, it's times like these that make me resent how powerless I am."
He had even thought about climbing the ranks to a position where he could put a stop to it. But advancement couldn't be achieved through ideals alone, and when told to dirty his hands with the corruption and the plundering he despised in order to rise, Broa hesitated.
It was then that he noticed a soldier from atop the fortress moving strangely. The figure was approaching their side while keeping watch on the surroundings. From the build and the movement, it appeared to be a woman.
"...An enemy?"
Broa quickly entered the fortress and, taking several subordinates with him, went searching for the black-haired woman he had spotted earlier—only to find her inside the fortress.
She had emerged from a room and was moving away from Broa.
"Could you wait a moment? Which unit do you belong to?"
Broa addressed her in a gentle voice, but his hand gripped the hilt of his sword. The knights and soldiers around Broa were also on guard against the woman.
However, at that moment, an inconvenient person appeared on the scene.
"How noisy. What's going on?"
A voice came from behind Broa and the others, and when they turned around, there stood Bread. Broa thought to himself that this was becoming a hassle, but—
"I merely noticed a suspicious individual and called out to them. Besides, these are rooms we've loaned out to the Landed Nobility. There are quite a few things I'd like to ask about."
Bread smiled at Broa, who was on guard against the possibility of the Landed Nobility betraying them. Unlike the meeting the day before, his attitude this time was relaxed.
"She's not suspicious. I'll guarantee that myself. Now then, be on your way."
The female soldier—black-haired with crimson eyes, her expression never once changing—gave a bow and quickly left the scene.
Broa turned to Bread.
"...You'll talk with me, won't you?"
Broa had a bad feeling about this, but Bread's answer was exactly what he'd imagined.
"This is all part of the operation, you see. Well, part of my own plan, rather. I'd appreciate it if the Generals kept their hands off as well."
With that, Bread entered the room the woman had just come out of. Broa decided he would report this matter to the other Generals——
Once he confirmed that Broa had left, Bread lodged a complaint with the baronet.
"I'd appreciate it if you could make the letter exchanges less conspicuous."
"I apologize. Also, I've already written and sent a letter to the Captain of the Royal Guard, just as you instructed earlier."
Bread nodded while silently mocking the baronet.
(What a hassle, getting found out by that Broa. But do these people have no sense of urgency? Even if they're following orders, we can't afford to have them dragging us down. Maybe I should manage the exchanges myself going forward. Honestly, incompetent subordinates are such a pain.)
Bread made a proposal to the baronet.
"Going forward, I'll be present for all letter exchanges."
He didn't think the man would try to outmaneuver him, but just in case, Bread said this to the baronet. The baronet, without showing any signs of trouble,
"Understood. We'll do so from now on. In that case, the next step would be——"
The baronet moved exactly as Bread wished, and in a good mood, Bread looked pleased. Then, once their meeting concluded, the baronet said to Bread,
"Oh, by the way, Captain of the Royal Guard."
"Yes?"
"General Broa may come looking into our affairs. Depending on the situation, he could report to the other generals and steal the credit for this matter. ...Even for us, our safety is far from guaranteed with anyone other than the Captain of the Royal Guard. Shouldn't you take some measures?"
To which Bread immediately replied:
"...An assassination?"
The baronet hastily denied the idea.
"That won't do! If an assassination scandal erupts at a time like this, our plans will be exposed. It would be best to seal off General Broa's movements, let the Captain of the Royal Guard claim the credit, and then explain the situation afterward."
Bread found it troublesome, but conceded the baronet's reasoning.
(If I've already secured the credit, those around me won't be able to ignore my opinion. As for Broa, I can deal with him after that. That works.)
"Understood. I'll handle it from here."
Bread intended to ultimately deal with the nuisance that was Broa — that is, kill him.
We helped out the Guild inside the Dungeon.
But the first thing I noticed upon stepping outside was — .
"Um, what do you mean by 'nothing happened'?"
I had braced myself for what I thought would be a farewell with the Fifth Generation, but the Fifth Generation didn't make a single sound. Mireia-san looked troubled, and May — who I thought was saying goodbye — seemed to feel like her expectations had been deflated, staring at me with a look that seemed to blame me.
Inside the Jewel.
While surrounding the Fifth Generation, I asked about the situation inside the Jewel.
According to Mireia-san:
"...She locked herself in the Memory Room and refused to come out! After we went through all that trouble to prepare everything!"
The Fifth Generation glared at Mireia-san while saying:
"Don't use May as an ingredient for your schemes! Listen, a farewell in that kind of atmosphere raises the bar way too high! It'd be several times better to just have a normal goodbye!"
When I asked what happened, it turned out the Fifth Generation didn't want to attend the "farewell party" that Mireia-san had planned. Indeed, none of the previous Successive Heads had ever parted on such an occasion. Until now, they had always said goodbye when the time was necessary. ...Well, the Second Generation was the exception — because of me, they never really got to say a proper farewell.
Mireia-san had not permitted the Fifth Generation to inherit her Skills. But because I had learned of the Fifth Generation's past, she had made the inheritance possible. However, she had never told the Fifth Generation about this, and so the Fifth Generation had missed the timing to inherit Skills from me.
The Seventh Generation spoke.
"So, shall we just get the inheritance over with right here? It's not like this is something that warrants a big fuss, and the Fifth Generation has already said what he needed to say."
The Fifth Generation was in a foul mood.
"I said things I didn't even want to say, but whatever. Come on, Lyle."
As the Fifth Generation tried to lead me to the Memory Room, Mireia-san stepped in front of him, blocking the way.
"You can't! If this is my responsibility, then I'm the one who should handle it here!"
The Fifth Generation looked at Mireia-san.
"Li-sen! You're being a nuisance! Listen, I don't care about the timing or any of that. The important thing is the role of passing Skills on to Lyle. Sure, it's not the most dignified way to go about it, but passing my Skills to Lyle matters more than how it looks. Mireia, so just stop worrying about it."
In that delicate atmosphere, the conversation was moving forward — but I, too, had something I needed to tell the Successive Heads.
"I'm sorry, but it seems Banseim has made a move, and I'll need to act on my end as well. I'll be busy for a while, so I won't be able to come here for some time... I'm, I'm really sorry!"
As I hurried away, the Fifth Generation extended his right hand and watched me go with an indescribable expression on his face.
—— A village in northern Baim.
There, the adventurers hired as guards — and the adventurers who hailed from the village — lay defeated on the ground by soldiers. The red blood being swallowed up by the earth marked the traces of battles fought across many spots.
A young soldier picked up one of the adventurers.
"This guy's wearing some seriously nice armor. I'm the one who took him down, so I get to keep it, right?"
The soldiers — fellow countrymen of the young soldier, it seemed — laughed.
"I don't see the harm, but I'd think twice about outshining our commander. Stand out on the battlefield and you'll be the first one targeted. If you really want it, sell it off and use the money to go independent."
Listening to these voices from those around him, the young baronet surveyed his surroundings.
"What a needless hassle. Did you really think sporadic attacks like that would work against fully equipped soldiers?"
The young baronet kicked an adventurer who was still drawing breath. Around him, several soldiers were pummeling another adventurer—perhaps avenging their fallen comrades.
The adventurer couldn't seem to process what was happening.
"Wh-why… We cleared the thirtieth floor of the Dungeon…"
Adventurers who had broken through the thirtieth floor underground. They were truly exceptional—provided you assumed the baseline was their capability as adventurers.
The baronet snorted.
"You practically advertise your mages for us to pick off. With your level of strength, all it takes is surrounding you, and we can handle it easily. I'll admit that fewer than ten of you managed to inflict nearly twenty casualties on my side, wounded and dead combined. But that's all there is to it. That said, that's quite the sword you've got there. A Mana Tool, is it… I think I'll be the one wielding it from now on."
Facing over a hundred armed soldiers, with archers picking off their mages in concentrated volleys, the adventurers had been doomed from the start. After that, the soldiers had picked off those with ranged attacks one by one, then surrounded and cut down the adventurers who charged out.
The young baronet drove the sword he'd taken from the adventurer through its original owner's chest.
"You looked so pleased with yourselves just because you'd beaten some Monsters… You knew far too little about the battlefield. That's exactly why overconfident adventurers are such a pain."
The baronet tested the blade's edge. Just then, a group of mercenaries approached him.
"Boss, don't forget about our contribution too."
The baronet flashed a smile at the grinning mercenaries.
"Of course not. I'm grateful for the guiding you provided to the village. Let's conduct the promised resource exchange under mutual observation. Now then, once we're done here, where should we head next?"
All around them, soldiers were looting and assaulting women. When the village men, unable to watch any longer, grabbed weapons and charged forward, the soldiers impaled them with spears and pierced them with arrows.
The mercenaries watched the baronet's soldiers at work.
"Still, they're even more ruthless than us mercenaries."
The baronet answered with a smile.
"Back in Banseim, we experienced far harsher battles. But when the resistance is this weak, it does tug at the conscience a bit. That said, I've no intention of going easy on them. Come on, let's hurry. If we dawdle, the other lords will snatch up our prey."
Baim had its own problems as well. Wielding the power of money, it had enjoyed peace for far too long. Baim had prospered by converting the blood spilled in neighboring countries into gold and siphoning it all up.
Somewhere deep down, they believed themselves safe—and that very belief had created an environment where effective resistance was impossible.
For Banseim, it was a paradise of unchecked plunder. The lords spread out across the surrounding lands, eyes gleaming with avarice——.