FPS 248

The rebellion of the Rafflesia, which turned into a fierce battle, had reached a turning point. After transferring the current King to the shooting range, I ran to the Transfer Circle Control building while looking back on this rebellion.

Dawn had already passed, and the Royal Capital was facing a quiet morning—―no, a too quiet of a morning.

However, as I approached the transfer circle control building, I heard a large number of controlled footsteps. And then, what came into sight was the transfer circle control building, about half of which had collapsed――the main street and unrelated buildings around it had clear traces of destruction left behind.

Chancellor Zephanel and Prince Khan seemed to have violently rampaged but succeeded in recapturing the transfer circle control building.

“Halt! You need special permission to――are you the Black Mask Shaft?”

The familiar knights wearing silver full-plate mail formed a formation to surround the transfer circle control building. They were careful not to allow anyone to come near it. When one of the knights saw me approaching the transfer circle control building, he shouted, but he seemed to immediately guess who I was.

It’s only natural. After leaving the Royal Palace, I put on the kevlar mask and Shaft avatar again. Besides, the knights guarding the building were the Barga Western Knights. The members of Barga Knights wouldn’t soon forget me――as I was Lapitirica’s savior while I was working as her escort.

In any case, they let me in the transfer circle control office building when I told them I was working at the behest of the Duke. But just in case, two knights escorted me to the building, and I had to leave behind my weapons.

Duke Barga, along with his eldest son Commander Steed Barga and Deputy Commander Butler Caymon, had converted the Director’s Office in the Transfer Circle Control Building into a meeting room.

One of the knights knocked on the door of the Director’s office, and I heard a voice asking for permission to enter.

“Your Excellency, mercenary Shaft is here to report.”

“So he’s back! Let him in immediately!”

Commander Steed’s voice came from inside.

“Come in.”

The knights who had accompanied me up to this point returned to their posts as I entered the Director’s office. The Director’s office wasn’t that big. Duke Barga sitting at the office desk in front of me, and Commander Steed and Deputy Commander Caymon standing in front of me, were waiting impatiently for my return.

“I’m glad you returned safely, Shaft-dono. So, did it go well?”

“His Majesty the King, Queen Millenia, Queen Claire, Chancellor Bergman, and Commander of the Knights Order, Cyrus, have evacuated to a safe place.”

“Ohh! Nothing less from the Black Nobleman! It looks like you’ve done a wonderful job this time too!”

“Shaft, where is this safe place?! With the rebellion not yet over, there is no safe place in the entire capital!?”

“Steed, calm down a little.”

“However, esteemed father, we must confirm His Majesty’s safety as soon as possible and put an end to the “Rafflesia” rebellion.”

“That’s why Chancellor Zephanel and Crown Prince Khan sent him to the Royal castle, right? 　Shaft-kun, will you be able to bring His Majesty here immediately? And what about the Second Prince Kilik?”

“Of course. First of all, I want all of us to transfer to the fortified city of Barga with the transfer magic circle here, and join His Majesty and the others there to prepare the system. The master of the Rafflesia, Kilik, and the vice-master, Felix, have transferred away from the Royal castle. He transferred with a magic circle to escape from the Royal Capital.”

I gave a simple answer to Duke Barga’s question, but this area was decided before I left for the royal castle――set up the main camp in the fortified city of Barga, prepare a counteroffensive system, and suppress the rebellion.

However, the necessity to do that――the person is not here. The fact that I came here alone is obvious when you see that I didn’t bring the current King with me. Not only Duke Barga, but also Commander Steed and Deputy Commander Caymon both tilted their heads at the statement that they would join the current King after transferring to Barga.

However, there is no time for a detailed explanation of the procedure for welcoming the current King.

Duke Barga seems to understand that, so he instructed Commander Steed to speed up the start of the suppression operation, and for Deputy Commander Caymon to guide me, transferring to the fortress city of Barga.

“It’s been a while…”

“Hmm――? Did you say something, Shaft?”

“No, it’s nothing.”

The transfer circle control building in the fortified city of Barga is one of the Western Barga Knight Order offices. A mutter leaked out from my mouth at the sight of the townscape of Barga, which I looked up for the first time in a long time, and the white castle of Valdège.

“So, Shaft, where do we go from here?”

“If there is a large warehouse near the headquarters, I would like to borrow it for a while.”

“Okay. The main camp is being set up at Valdege Castle, so you should use the warehouse inside the castle.”

We got on the carriage driven by the knights who were waiting in the office and moved to the castle of Valdège. The appearance of Barga seen inside the carriage had a slightly different atmosphere from the Royal Capital.

　

Many horse-drawn carriages were running between the office and the Valdège Castle early in the morning, and the moving knights and guards had tense expressions on their faces. Looking at the situation, the people of Balga, who should have felt the beginning of a refreshing day, were wrapped in indescribable anxiety.

Even though it is the Barga territory adjacent to the Royal Capital, the news of the rebellion has not reached the level of the general public, and something is just happening. Is it the rampage of the labyrinth, the annihilation of a prominent clan, or the discovery of a large demi-human settlement? The city of Barga was greeted with a quiet commotion in the morning due to the anxiety that could not be given an answer.

When we entered the castle in a carriage, the inside of the castle was completely different from the city, and it was full of noise.

“Shaft, do you want to meet Prince Khan and Chancellor Zephanel first?”

“No, I want to welcome His Majesty and the others as soon as possible.”

“Very well. Let’s head to the warehouse.”

Following Caymon’s orders, the carriage headed for an empty warehouse on the castle’s outskirts.

Inside the castle, not only the members of the Barga Knight Order, but also several groups wearing knight armor with different designs were visible. Inside the Valdege Castle, where the counterattack headquarters was set up, the nobles of the feudal lords gathered from various territories of the kingdom, and a small number of knights who could be called their adjutants had gathered.

“As expected, they move fast.”

“It’s a matter of course for the Kingdom. No one thinks that this rebellion will end with just Rafflesia. However, the Third Knight Order is on standby at Snakehead ready to respond.”

“I’ve been meaning to ask before, but where is the First Knight Order?”

“The First Central Knights Order is an intangible order of knights. You can say that it’s the Kingdom of Kurtmerga itself. His Majesty is the leader of the Knights Order, and the Magic Nobles are listed as members of the Knights Order.”

“I see….”

I thought it was weird that I haven’t heard anything about the First Knight Order, but turns out the kingdom itself is the knight order. If I remember correctly…I heard before that the original magic nobles and nobles were also adventurers who went around crushing the labyrinth with the Founding King to protect Kurtmelga, who had just founded the country. It changed little by little, and it probably fit into the form of the Central First Knight Order.

I don’t know how many knights are participating in this headquarters, but looking at the colorful knight armor, I can see that this counteroffensive operation has taken on the appearance of an all-out war.

“――here.”

The carriage stopped, and I got off with Deputy Commander Caymon.

“Is there no people inside?”

“Should be.”

“――Then the deputy commander, please gather the guards in front of the warehouse. I’m the only one who’s going inside, so please wait here until His Majesty and the others come out.”

“…His Excellency the Duke has asked me to respond to your request as much as possible. I shall prepare accordingly.”

Deputy Commander Caymon probably won’t follow everything I say, but he kindly agreed to wait outside.

Now then, all that’s left is to transfer to the shooting range and pick up the people who have been rescued from the Royal castle, including the current King. However, there is one thing I’m worried about… I wonder what the people waiting at the shooting range will think when they see the buildings and facilities there…