Chapter 18

Viscount Lemming’s voice came through the communicator.

He must have been drinking because his tongue was slightly slurred.

Selina expressed disgust upon realizing that her superior was intoxicated during an operation, but for me, it was rather welcome news.

It would be difficult for him to think normally if he was drunk.

“This is Adam Dayla of Unit 707.”

[What? How do you have the communicator?]

“Well… I found a crashed Alliance airship during the operation.”

Adam reported in detail what had happened during the operation.

He had secured all the hearts that were the objective of the mission, Theo’s death, and even the discovery of a large amount of supplies from the crashed airship.

Viscount Lemming had been listening indifferently to most of the report, but his voice brightened considerably at the news of the large quantity of supplies.

[That’s very welcome news. We were short on supplies anyway… Soldier, return with all of them.]

“…What?”

Adam was visibly flustered, not having expected an order to bring back so many things.

However, he couldn’t object.

His opponent was a noble.

He must have perceived him as someone he, a commoner, had to absolutely obey.

At this rate, things would once again go as Viscount Lemming wished.

I snatched the communicator from Adam.

“This is Ryan Kaltz.”

[…It’s you.]

His tone of voice dropped a notch.

If I were the person who wanted to impress him, I would have been self-conscious, but not now.

My voice was surprisingly low and cold, even to myself.

“You just ordered us to bring all the supplies…”

[I did.]

“That’s impossible.”

[Are you disobeying my orders now?]

Since I couldn’t see his face or expression, I had to analyze his emotions solely through his voice.

As expected, Viscount Lemming, who was sensitive about his rights despite not fulfilling his duties, erupted in undisguised fury.

Judging by his voice, it seemed he wouldn’t let me off if I returned.

A firm and unwavering will to harm me in some way was conveyed through his voice alone.

[Soldier, follow orders.]

“I cannot obey if you tell me to do the impossible. I mean it’s physically impossible to bring back all the supplies here.”

[…Then return with as much as you can.]

“Among the secured spoils, there’s an airship engine. I heard a magician is needed to safely remove the engine…”

[Wait. The engine is alive? The engine of a crashed airship?]

As expected.

Viscount Lemming took the bait.

In truth, the supplies found in the airship weren’t all that valuable.

At best, they were pocket money level.

But an engine was different.

The critical reason the Alliance couldn’t mass-produce airships was due to the supply of engines.

Naturally, Viscount Lemming, who was so greedy that he would even embezzle cheap supplies like antidotes and signal flares, wouldn’t ignore an airship engine, a solid mass of gold.

[This is an order. Unit 707, secure the area around the airship! An airship will arrive on site within 6 hours.]

“…6 hours?”

Adam muttered to himself, bewildered by the appearance of a number that made no logical sense.

The distance from their current location to Unit 707’s airship was about 4-5 hours on foot.

An airship boasts a speed incomparable to walking.

Even considering the time for takeoff and landing when traveling by airship, 30 minutes would be more than enough to arrive.

That’s why Adam didn’t know why Viscount Lemming called for 6 hours, and he blurted out a remark unwittingly.

But I knew.

The reason Viscount Lemming called for 6 hours.

The engine attached to the airship was a culmination of magical technology, and removing it necessarily required the labor of a magician.

In other words.

It was the time it would take for Viscount Lemming, who had been operating Unit 707 by only sending familiars from the rear, to personally come to the site.

***

6 hours passed more quickly than I expected.

During that time, I inspected my equipment.

While meticulously checking the internal structure of the crashed airship, I discovered numerous supply-grade equipment, but it was hard to find anything in perfect condition.

As I cleaned a relatively decent sword, shield, and armor, the noise from a distance gradually grew closer.

Without a word, we all looked up at the sky in the distance.

Far away, an airship was approaching at high speed against the backdrop of the slowly setting sun.

The mark symbolizing Unit 707 was engraved on its surface.

“We can go back now…”

Adam said with a deep sigh of relief.

Though he hadn’t shown it, Adam, with his injured leg, must have been in continuous pain every minute and second.

Perhaps he finally let go of the tension he had been holding onto, thinking he could finally go back and get treatment, as his shoulders slumped limply.

“Finally, I’ll get to see that arrogant guy’s face.”

Selina, who seemed very displeased, stood with her arms crossed and one hip cocked, glaring at the approaching airship.

Her demeanor suggested she might even slap Viscount Lemming.

Of course, that wouldn’t happen.

Lilisa…

“…Hmph.”

She was like me.

She was extremely tense, only swallowing dry saliva.

Soon, the airship attempted to land in the clearing below.

KWAANG!

The strong wind pressure emanating from the landing zone ruffled our clothes and hair indiscriminately.

With a loud noise, the airship landed, and its door opened. Not a rabbit doll familiar, but a man walked out.

‘That person…’

My fists clenched involuntarily.

He appeared to be in his mid-170s, and his overall impression was more of a ‘noble’ than a ‘magician.’

The attire he wore blatantly displayed an extravagance unsuitable for the battlefield, so much so that the excessive ornamentation made it look rather gaudy.

He had no weapon.

Instead, a familiar trotted behind him like a pet, and it was highly likely that this familiar itself was his weapon for wielding magic.

He looked to be in his late 20s.

Younger than I expected.

While his physical abilities would be high due to his youth, it was fortunate that he would also lack experience and knowledge as a magician.

He glanced over us once, then frowned deeply.

“Dirty and messy.”

“……”

I wondered if he was in his right mind.

It was natural for a soldier actively engaged in an operation to be grimy with sweat and dust, and that much was proof of their diligent participation in the mission.

“I really want to punch him.”

Celina clenched and unclenched her fist, muttering.

Viscount Lemming, who didn’t hear her, noticed the crashed airship and his eyes lit up.

“An Alliance… an ultra-compact airship from the Elgion Empire at that. The model is… Erpa? Or Dieon? It’s hard to tell with so much damage. But true to an Elgion Empire model, elegance is exuding from its refinement!”

“……”

That bastard.

Was he an airship otaku?

It made sense that a man so obsessed with money that he would even embezzle cheap supplies meant for soldiers would invest so lavishly in airships.

A sigh escaped me naturally.

It was clear that in the eyes of this airship-obsessed man, Theo’s grave, and the grave next to it that was meant for him, went unnoticed.

“Soldier!”

His voice even sounded irritatingly cheerful.

“Immediately guide me to the airship’s engine room! The rest of you, thoroughly guard the perimeter to prevent any Labias Lizards from approaching!”

The group exchanged glances.

Since Viscount Lemming hadn’t specified anyone, they couldn’t immediately decide who should step forward.

Normally, Adam, the field commander, would follow, but due to his ankle injury, he was unable to move.

“I’ll go.”

“…Are you sure?”

As I stepped forward, Celina whispered in a cautious voice.

She must have asked this question because she knew my relationship with Viscount Lemming was at its worst.

I nodded once to indicate I was fine and approached Viscount Lemming.

An undisguised look of displeasure settled on Viscount Lemming’s face, which had been bright like a child who had found a new toy.

“It had to be you.”

“Is there a reason why I can’t?”

“That… No, never mind. Just guide me, it doesn’t matter.”

“Understood.”

I led Viscount Lemming into the airship.

A heavy silence passed between Viscount Lemming and me all the way to our destination, the engine room.

The silence only ended upon arriving at the engine room.

The moment he discovered the luminously glowing engine, Viscount Lemming let out an exclamation of awe, as if he had found the largest gold nugget in the world.

“My word… The airship is so heavily damaged, yet how can the engine be so intact? If I just sell this, I can replace all the parts in my airship with new ones! No, even better. I could sell the entire airship and add that money to buy a new small airship…”

Viscount Lemming approached the engine, his hands trembling slightly as he caressed it.

His touch was as careful as if he were handling a child.

Viscount Lemming stirred his magic.

Then, with delicate movements, he began to detach the engine from the airship.

Waves of magic swirled around his body.

“……”

I quietly inhaled.

With my eyes open, all I could see was Viscount Lemming’s defenseless back.

He was a noble.

And steeped in elitism.

He, who regarded commoner soldiers as mere insects, would not know.

Unlike insects that only wriggle when stepped on, humans do not simply stop at wriggling when stepped on.

I drew my sword.

And silently crept towards Viscount Lemming.

I had no intention of giving him a chance to retaliate.

I plunged in deeply, intending to end it in one blow.

“……?”

Viscount Lemming sensed something was wrong and was about to turn his head.

I swung my sword with all my might.

SPLAASH!

A large amount of blood poured from the long, deep wound that stretched from Viscount Lemming’s shoulder to his side.

I had intended to end it with one strike, but it seems a mere quick sharpening wasn’t enough for its sharpness.

Viscount Lemming did not die.

“GUAAAHH!”

His erupting scream sounded sweeter than any instrument in the world.

I wanted this.

I wanted to hear his pained screams.

“You, you lowly creature, how dare you!”

Viscount Lemming did not hide his rage.

And I, too, unleashed the anger I had meticulously accumulated.

“You should have known when to quit, you son of a bitch!”

Viscount Lemming’s familiar leaped towards me.

Its eyes glowed blue.

This was a unique phenomenon that occurred when magicians used magic.

I didn’t know what magic he was going to use, but whatever it was, I kicked off the ground, intending to kill him before he could cast it.

The sword, swung with all my might, buried itself in the center of Viscount Lemming’s chest.

Viscount Lemming’s face, which had been screaming in fury, was now etched with terror.

It was the terror of rapidly approaching death.

And then.

KWAANG!

With a loud roar, Viscount Lemming’s familiar exploded.

A powerful shockwave and intense heat from the flames engulfed me.

Viscount Lemming’s scream, the sound of the explosion, and my own scream merged together.