Yuri wiped Guilty with a cloth.
As the blood and flesh were cleared away, the smooth surface of the blade reflected his black pupils.
When he tilted the blade downward, he could see a drop of blood clinging beneath his lips.
"It was a long fight."
As Yuri wiped his chin with his sleeve, someone suddenly plopped down beside him.
"What brings you here?"
The face was unfamiliar, but after going over the voice in his mind, he could tell who it was.
It was one of the Empire's knights that Ragna had assigned to him during the ruins expedition. At the time, he hadn't been able to see his face properly due to the helmet.
"Back then, all you said was 'Yes, yes,' but looks like you can talk after all."
"I was on duty."
"You can't speak while on duty?"
"It's not recommended."
It seemed the Imperial Knight Order had strict regulations. Compared to that, Briol's knights were a disorderly bunch.
Yuri let out a brief chuckle.
"The Empire's a different breed."
"I saw how well Your Highness handled the orcs just now."
"Aha..."
"To be honest, I can't even guess how many you killed."
Just a while ago, the Allied Army had been engaged in battle with the orcs.
The alert had rung urgently, and Yuri had grabbed his sword and rushed out.
And then, he slaughtered them.
What had been passed down to him were hunting skills, but Yuri didn't think that word fit. It was closer to butchery.
Like mechanically slicing meat, the way he swiftly and efficiently slaughtered orcs was etched into his very flesh.
"Honestly, I'm the same way."
Yuri spoke as he pushed Guilty back into its sheath.
"I lost count."
"You're incredible, truly..."
"Name?"
"It's Rodine."
"Rodine."
Yuri extended his hand. Rodine was momentarily flustered, then wiped his own hand on his coat and took Yuri's.
"Introductions should be done with a handshake."
"Ah, yes..."
Back in his mercenary days, there had been someone who placed great importance on handshakes. Old-fashioned, but with a good head on his shoulders.
"..."
Then, the conversation stalled.
Yuri spoke.
"Who sent you?"
"Pardon?"
"You don't seem to have much to say, yet you came all the way here. Makes me think someone sent you."
"N-no, that's not it."
"Then why'd you come?"
"Well..."
Rodine cleared his throat.
"I was so impressed by Your Highness's incredible martial prowess, I wondered if you had a special technique. Isn't this your first time facing orcs in the Allied Army?"
"That's right."
"Then how are you so good at handling them? Most people struggle when fighting orcs."
Yuri shared a few tips.
"Orcs get swept up in instinct. So if you look into their eyes, you can predict their movements."
Of course, it wasn't as easy as it sounded. Reaching that level required a tremendous amount of time and experience.
Yuri was only able to do it thanks to the hunter's techniques he had inherited.
"Their eyes, huh..."
Rodine nodded.
"You're quite talented. To be this skilled at such a young age… your girlfriend must be very happy. Oh, you do have a girlfriend, right?"
Yuri silently stared at Rodine.
Rodine blinked and tilted his head, then let out an awkward laugh.
"Why are you looking at me like that, haha..."
"His Highness sent you."
"W-what? No, of course not."
"Didn't he?"
"Of course not."
"Really?"
"Yes."
He suddenly brought up the topic of a girlfriend.
There was definitely something behind this.
Yuri stared intently into Rodine's eyes.
Rodine leaned back slightly.
"Well..."
"Even if His Highness didn't send you, it must be because of him."
"What do you mean by that..."
"Just be honest."
"Uhh..."
Rodine scratched his head, unable to open his mouth.
Yuri pointed it out.
"The Captain of the Knight Order?"
Rodine flinched and stared at Yuri in shock.
"Nice. I like how clear your reaction is."
Yuri let out a low chuckle.
When he'd been clad in black armor, he hadn't shown any emotion, but he was more human than expected.
"H-how did you know?"
"You know how close His Highness is to me..."
"Yes."
"So they'd want to see whether things will go as His Highness desires, or whether I'll refuse. Out of all the people who could've sent you, only the Knight Captain fits the bill, doesn't he?"
"Well… yes. That's right."
Rodine admitted it.
He let out a sigh and said,
"You're not only skilled in swordsmanship but insightful as well."
"Insight? Nah. Just intuition."
"So, are you not going to answer?"
"I don't know why everyone keeps trying to tie me to that woman."
"So you're aware of that too."
"His Highness told me."
Rodine tilted his head.
"Don't tell me… you dislike her?"
"Should I like her then?"
"Her Highness the Imperial Princess is incredibly beautiful. How could anyone dislike someone like her?"
"Rodine."
Yuri put on a stern expression.
Rodine might be older in this life, but counting his past lives, Yuri was far more of an adult.
"Looks aren't everything. What matters is the heart."
"Ah, yes."
But to Rodine, still in his twenties, the words seemed to go in one ear and out the other.
"You should remember that..."
"But either way, isn't that a good thing? Her Highness has a kind heart too."
"Oh, really?"
Yuri scoffed through his nose.
"She does seem that way."
On the surface, she appeared kind and gentle.
But that wasn't the truth.
She was completely different inside than how she appeared on the outside.
What lay within her—her true intentions—was layered.
When they were lovers, she had shown a different side of herself to Yuri than she did to others.
Yuri had believed that was her true self.
But that, too, had been just another lie.
"You know Her Highness?"
"No."
"But you don't seem to think very well of her."
"Like or dislike, what does it matter? She's got nothing to do with me."
"Oh… so then what you're saying is..."
Yuri stood up and said,
"I do."
"Pardon?"
"I do have a girlfriend."
He was a skilled liar.
Most people stutter or act awkward when telling a lie, but Yuri could smoothly steal a card from the deck without flinching—he was a bold gambler.
"You do?"
"Yeah."
Rodine was flustered.
In the Empire, relationships in one's youth were often brushed aside for political reasons, but the royal family of Briol had different values.
"I-I see. Sounds like things are going well then."
"Pretty much."
"May I ask who she is…"
"Rodine."
Yuri's expression hardened.
Rodine lowered his head.
"I'm sorry. That was out of line..."
"Do you have someone you love?"
"Not yet."
"That's good."
"Why is that?"
"Because you won't be making ominous statements like, 'Once this war is over, I'll propose to her.'"
"And why would that be ominous?"
"When you return to the Empire, go see a play or something."
Yuri stood up.
"How many times have we fought since sunrise?"
"Three times."
"Today's going to set a record since the war began."
At Yuri's words, Rodine's expression changed.
He picked up his sword and rose, scanning the horizon. But he sensed nothing.
Then, suddenly, an explosion rang out.
"From behind?"
Yuri turned around.
An explosion had gone off where the supply crates were gathered.
It was that sorcery bomb from earlier.
"How did it end up there…"
"The ground."
Yuri let out a cold smile.
"Must've come underground, like ants."
Shouts began to echo in the air.
The urgent alarm bell rang out again.
"Orcs have appeared! They're inside the camp!"
"Protect the supplies!"
Without armor, only carrying Guilty, Yuri sprinted inward.
Now, the gauntlet that had fully molded to his hand gripped Guilty's hilt tightly.
"Rodine."
"Yes."
"Steel your heart. Brace yourself again."
Yuri narrowed his eyes and stared at the orcs emerging inside the camp.
There were a lot.
"Up until now, we've had it easy."
"We did have a grueling march though."
"Any Imperial knights dead?"
"Not yet…"
There had been casualties in the Allied Army, but none among the Imperial knights—yet.
"There will be now."
Rodine's face faltered.
When wearing that black helmet, he seemed like an emotionless machine, but now he looked no different from any other man.
"You really think so?"
"I do."
Yuri didn't believe the Allied Army would continue coasting along this easily.
In his past life, the Allied Army had failed, and many excellent knights had died.
It had been a brutal war. There was no way it would all end peacefully just because he'd contributed a little.
"You don't want your comrades to die, do you?"
"No."
"Then fight harder. Kill more orcs."
Yuri simultaneously recognized every orc within his field of vision.
Each was in a different position, each in a different flow. But they all had the same purpose.
They were trying to kill humans.
"That's the duty of a knight."
The fact that orcs were subspecies of humans tainted by black magic meant nothing to Yuri.
Nor did he intend to tell anyone.
He had a duty.
The world had placed a sword in his hand, and so, he would simply do what he must.
"Your Highness… huh?"
Yuri had already dashed forward.
An orc, who had been swinging an axe at a soldier, noticed him.
Yuri immediately threw Guilty.
Everyone values their own life.
The orc withdrew his axe to block Guilty. The sword struck the axe blade and spun through the sky.
Yuri leapt up, snatched the handle mid-air, and dove straight down.
The orc's eyes trembled.
It tried to escape, but the soldier it had been facing suddenly swung his sword.
The orc was forced to block the soldier's attack, losing track of Yuri for a moment.
Guilty stabbed vertically into the crown of its skull.
He could feel the skull shattering. At the same time, blood splattered across his face.
Yuri landed atop the orc's collapsing body and spat.
"Thank you!"
the soldier shouted.
Yuri grinned.
"Harrison. Don't fight alone."
The soldier's eyes widened. He seemed surprised that the prince knew his name.
As Yuri stood up, he patted Harrison on the shoulder.
"Let's meet again, alive."
"Y-yes, sir!"
Yuri immediately turned away.
A massive swarm of orcs was bursting out in the middle of the camp.
Through the tremors in the ground, Yuri could feel more orcs flooding in.
"Tunnels."
The orcs had dug tunnels to appear right in the Allied Army's midst.
Yuri shouted.
"Ernando!"
A voice responded from behind.
"Yes!"
"Can you use magic?"
"I can't! The shamans are disrupting it!"
"Got it!"
He'd wondered if the shamans had backed off, but apparently the infiltration had been planned with full coordination.
That meant this wasn't just a one-time probing strike—this was a well-prepared ambush.
Yuri's eyes widened.
The tunnel-based surprise attack had caught them off guard, but it also came with advantages.
If the battlefield narrows, it becomes easier to find targets and ambush them.
"Ernando!"
"Yes!"
"Stay ready!"
"Yes!"
"Cast when the time's right!"
"Y-yes!"
Yuri whirled the mana method throughout his body. The energy of the heart-soul slash made his body feel light.
He was ready to leap.
Suddenly, Yuri's gaze shifted.
One orc in particular caught his eye.
Under normal circumstances, it would've been an unremarkable orc soldier.
But not to him, not now.
"Shaman."
The orc soldier's appearance was a disguise.
That was a shaman.
Through the hunter's skills granted to him, Yuri had seen through the orc's true identity.
It was the gait.
The orc was pretending to fight, swinging its axe, but it occasionally stumbled—failing to notice obstacles underfoot.
Loss of vision was a hallmark of orc shamans. It was also a trait of black magic users.
Yuri tilted his head at the knowledge that had suddenly surfaced. But he quickly shook it off.
There was no time to think.
Yuri shot forward like an arrow.
He dashed past the orcs. Axes, halberds, and great hammers flew at him.
He dodged them like a feather.
Voices called out behind him, but he paid them no mind.
And then he locked onto the orc shaman, who was awkwardly holding up a battle axe.
Nearby orcs tried to block him.
"Out of my way!"
Yuri condensed mana, loaded it into Guilty, and swung mightily. A deafening explosion rang out as the orcs clashing weapons with him were blasted backward.
He had reached a level where he could unleash a shockwave by expelling mana.
Yuri pressed forward.
The orc shaman noticed him as he entered striking range and opened its mouth.
"Akuruu ke—!"
Squelch.
Before it could do anything, Yuri jammed Guilty into its mouth.
The tip of the blade burst out the back of its skull.
Yuri lifted the sword upward and split the head in half.
With the fountain of blood erupting behind him, Yuri turned around.
"Ernando!"
Now that the enemy shaman was gone, the magical balance was completely one-sided.
Ernando responded to his call.
It was the cool, blazing fireball he'd so desperately wanted.
Ernando's fireball crashed down exactly where Yuri had aimed.
The tunnel exploded.