Chapter 149: A Good Man Doesn't Need Rules
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"Could we just… not?"
Tristwin stared at me evenly.
I sighed and raised my arms in surrender. "Fine, fine. At least for Zanac's sake I will save his aunt." Then the pitch of my voice changed "We need to hurry then. The sooner we get her back, the less risk she's going to come back with her head on a spike."
"Do as you must, Sir Zah. You may call upon anyone in Belfast under my authority."
"This is the sort of scenario for which I set up the Diamond Dogs in the first place, elite fast response sky cavalry. But they are not ready. They've only been training for, what, two weeks? There's a lot more doctrine and equipment before we're ready to assault castles. Eheheheh..." I chuckled lightly. " But I guess if one person can breach a castle, then four should do much better."
"Aw, you're not going to storm the castle alone? You disappoint me, boyo!" Jamukha pouted.
"If you ain't cheatin', you ain't tryin'," I retorted with an arrogant sniff. "Also, these honorless dirtbags don't deserve any respect." I turned towards the King of Belfast again. "I guess that just leaves one question then?"
"Um- Sir Zah..."
"Two questions," I preempted her inquiry. "Yumina, you're staying."
She nodded. "Understood." Fighting monsters was one thing, the Crown Princess was too valuable to risk going against other nation's soldiers in an undeclared war. She looked a bit downcast though.
"Of course, just because you're staying behind doesn't mean you don't have a job to do. You're the adjutant so go adjute." I grinned and pointed at the map. "Monitor and report on the battlespace to keep everyone informed if we have screwed this up and ignited the war."
"Thank you. What was the other question?" she asked.
I smiled sadly. "It is a fine line between humiliating Regulus and having them declare war on us for attacking them. But people have died here. You are the ones that lost loyal vassals. The battlefield is unpredictable. So I guess the question is – should I bother to bring back the perpetrator alive to face justice?"
Tristwin leaned back and hummed as he pondered the question. "I suppose… it would be *better*, but if it is not opportune, I leave it entirely up to you. Kill them if you wish, capture if you can."
"Huh, and here I thought the question would be about rewards. Fighting to become stronger is enough reward by itself! Really we're standing on the same peak, boyo! Gwahahahaha!"
"Phft, no. I'm going to bilk both of you for rewards once this is done. Leave that talk for when I return."
Tristwin hummed again and tugged at his own beard. "I must say it is somewhat refreshing to hear someone express their blatant self-interest to my face for a change. Now I am curious what you will ask."
Yumina let out a little groan and massaged her forehead. "Father, don't… make no grand expectations, please."
Ah, Yumina. You think you know me, but this time you are wrong!
As if feeling the smug grin on my face, Yumina squinted at me from the side. Her sharp gaze implied 'That is contingent on you not dying. Do not be too overconfident, for you also do not know your enemy.'
Fair enough.
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"Elze! Linze! Yae! WE GO TO WAR!"
"Excellent! I mean, uhm. Hai, Playa-dono! This one will help in any way she is capable of, I will." Yae coughed and looked away, blushing.
"What," said Elze.
"Mister Zah, what happened?"
"Walk with me. We need to hurry."
The girls looked at each other, and the followed. They saw that outside the door servants were already prepared, holding out their weapons and equipment. "Whoa, seriously in a hurry," Elze muttered. We geared up quickly and moved on. "Is it really war now? Where are we going?"
"Regulus pulled some shenanigans and somehow managed to kidnap Zorah. Now we have to invade Regulus to find and rescue her."
Elze grimaced. "Aww. Not her again! Do we have to?"
"Elze, do you remember, Mynah? That adventurer you fought?"
"Mmm. Yeah. That was fun. It's too bad she's Zorah's crew – it would be nice to do something like that again sometime."
"I do not wish to encounter that Cynthia woman again, I do not!" Yae huffed.
"And yet you remember her name," I noticed.
"Now and then I would receive gifts with her name on them!"
I paused for a moment and faced her. "Those gifts… they're food, aren't they?"
Yae let out a squelched little noise. Elze groaned and palmed her face. "Please tell me you're not just eating any candy some random perverted woman is giving you. If you just wanted sweets, you could just ask Playa for them."
"T-that would be improper."
"Playa's rich. He can... should... afford to feed us things other than chicken, dangit! Who knows, she could have drugged or poisoned them?! Be careful about things like that!"
Yae raised her hand. She showed off the ring I had given her. Anti-poison magic item. It was still on her ring finger.
Elze clacked her tongue. "Don't so easily trust suspicious artifacts from suspicious people."
"Elze, as much as I enjoy our usual smack-talk, this is not the time. Mylah's dead. Zorah's other guards are almost dead. Castle Zenovi's walls have been breached."
"Oh." Elze looked a bit lost about how to react to that. "I… didn't really know her that well. Should I feel sad? Sorry. It's just… I don't know." Her tone trailed off. She wasn't sad, not exactly, and living in Refreese had quickly soaked into her the fragility of life. She clenched her armored fists. The feeling of losing not a friend, but a rival…
"She was stronger than you. And she died. The time for little adventurer games is over. If you don't have the resolve to kill, then all you can do is to play support guard this mission."
Elze sucked in her breath. "Tch. I don't… I suppose it has to happen at some point. We're not just regular adventurers anymore." She looked up and then suddenly stopped. "Wait! I thought… I thought you and Monika were *pacifists*, what in tarnation! The last time we fought you were so concerned about making sure no one died!"
"Hahaha oh, Elze…!" I shook my head with a chuckle. "That just makes us Doctors. Technical pacifists are not allowed to kill. But doctrine is a little vague on… kneecaps."
/"Good men don't need rules to know when they're doing the right thing. Demons run when a good man goes to war."/ With a sound of breaking glass, Monika appeared floating and keeping pace beside me. /"Now is not a good time to find out why we have so many."/
Boom. A [Boom Tube] opened in front of us.
"That doesn't even make sense, you totally rule-breaking maniacs," Elze groused as she walked into it.
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Boom.
We emerged into the courtyard of Castle Zenovi. Instantly we were surrounded by swords and spears aimed at our necks.
"DROP YOUR WEAPONS! DROP THEM NOW!" the guards were screaming.
"I COME HERE BY THE AUTHORITY OF HIS MAJESTY, TRISTWIN ERNES BELFAST, AND AS A MAN OF THE HOUSE OF ORTLINDE!" Then in a calmer tone "If you will permit me to show my identification?"
"Tch. Don't move a muscle," the captain of the Zeno High Guards snarled. He went away to call the highest ranking officer present in the castle.
I whistled nonchalantly and twiddled my thumbs while waiting. We were made to sit down on the ground, but at least they didn't take our weapons. Elze grumbled a bit at being made to wait after being in such a hurry, but that was life in the military sadly. Hurry up and wait. It would be a pity if we had to beat up people who were only doing their duty. Mooks gotta mook, but they have feelings too.
Then again, I wondered, if I didn't flex now and then would even more people think it was within their power to hassle us in the pursuit of our own jobs? Wouldn't that shame our own employers, or at least the face of House Ortlinde which formally counts us among their protected people? If it was just me, my ego can take it. I have deep sympathy for people in the service sector. But now that we represent others, it somewhat makes sense now why little punks swagger around and can get their sponsors into trouble.
We don't need to go full xianxia here, but still...
Hmm.
Bringing Yumina along probably would have avoided being made to wait, but this close to the frontier was still unsafe. Mismede was a heckuva lot safer for her than even her own palatial home.
A short while later, a woman with long raven hair and a battered half plate emerged from within the keep.
"YOU!"
"ME!"
Lydia scowled at my grin. "What are you doing here? We have no time to entertain flighty adventurers like you."
"We happen to be employed by the Crown now. We are here to to recover Lady Zorah." I pointed to the still open Boom Tube behind me. "As you can see, we are uniquely capable of plunging deep into Regulus and getting out within the hour." I showed off a platinum medal with the royal symbol of Belfast.
Lydia closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Then she opened them with fresh resolve. "Very well. I'll believe that for now. You may assist. But once we are through, you will obey my orders-"
"We are bid by His Majesty to invade Regulus and break out Lady Zorah as soon as possible. I understand and respect your desire for vengeance and the rescue of your liege, but you" I gestured to the bandages around her arms and waist, "are clearly in no shape for any more heavy combat. Any information you can provide will be of immeasurable help."
"Now listen here, you insolent little twit, this is no place for your games! You will obey or you will be made to obey-!" She raised her hand and all the guards surrounding us tensed, their blades glinting in the mid-morning sun.
All I had to do was close my hand into a fist and to flex the muscles in my left arm. The air grew heavy. So heavy that everyone not already sitting on the ground were forced to their knees.
"Ugh!" Lydia groaned, and pushed herself back up, before the high pressure winds from above forced her down again. I didn't need to increase the pressure through all the courtyard, which would have been a tremendously inefficient way of doing this. Everyone was caught in a vertical [Wind Tunnel] and the pressure equivalent to five atmospheres increasing proportional to their resistance pressed down on each of them. "Again... this [Heavy Wind]!"
But since air was invisible, it seemed much more impressive as if I had just manipulated all the air above the castle.
I smiled softly. "Lydia Colwinde. You failed once. Don't fail your Lady a second time. The Absolute Master of Wind Magic is all the more effective the more confined the space. Help us help you. Zanac's my friend, so we are friends to House Zenovi."
Lydia seethed. And then she began laughing. "… Stupid. Stupid little twit." She began pounding her fists on the ground, cackling madly. "All your magic… magic means nothing! Magic won't save her and it won't save you!"
What are you even talking about, you *magic swordswoman*?
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