kscans

Chapter 52 - The Truth Revealed in the Barrier-Protected Base

The wound from Cerio's blade wouldn't stop bleeding even with an All-Purpose Bandage. So, he had no choice. He felt bad for the others, but he had to use the High Potion he was carrying.

Kyle was still sleeping soundly, the drug having worked well on him. For now, he was tied up securely and didn't look like he would wake up soon, so everyone else should be safe.

The pain of losing a subordinate he trusted was immense. From now on, he would have to lead alone.

He still didn't even know if he could truly trust the remaining men.

"Listen up. No one inside this base has been harmed by monsters. There must be some kind of barrier here that monsters can't enter. So don't go outside for any reason."

After saying this, he took out a Potion bottle. It was one Mireille had made. He placed it next to one of the Potions that had been stockpiled here.

"Look. The color is different, right?"

Everyone gasped.

"N, no way."

"Isn't that a Potion inside?"

They couldn't hide their agitation. But that in itself was the answer.

"...The alchemy items from the supply stock were weak or ineffective because there's a high probability Cerio either replaced them or diluted them. By the way, who confirmed that the Imperial Guard ordered you to carry out monster subjugation missions without the bells?"

A murmur spread through them.

"It was from Cerio. He was in charge of reconnaissance, so he would guide the Imperial Guard and greet incoming units. That day, too... he said he was asked by an attacked Imperial Guard soldier to 'bring the bells'... He was supposed to have taken the ones we had here. And then he told us we were ordered to carry out the monster subjugation mission without returning."

The other four men all nodded, so it seemed their understanding was correct.

"Did anyone actually see him hand them over?"

Another man spoke up.

"...No one did. But... he said the Imperial Guard members were being attacked by monsters on the way... and that they needed the bells to 'call for reinforcements immediately.'"

"Then why didn't they use the communication room?"

"Right... but the communications officer was killed by a monster on a mission last week... After that, we tried to use it by just guessing, but we couldn't get it to connect at all..."

It seemed Cerio had been the leader among the remaining five. Now there was no one to represent them or speak for them, and their answers were all disjointed.

In the first place, Cerio was a highly skilled operative. It was unclear whether the Imperial Guard and the communications officer were really killed by monsters, were set up to be killed, or were killed directly by Cerio.

...The only way to know how much of this was true was to confirm with the Imperial Guard. The tricky part, however, was that they were a unit directly under the King's command.

They couldn't receive help from other knight orders. Even if this was Cerio's plot, if he was the King's shadow, then this was the King's will.

It was unthinkable that the King would mobilize the Imperial Guard. In other words, this was tantamount to the King telling them to go and die.

As he thought, he had no choice but to call Mireille, despite the risks. He wanted to buy a little time.

"...Well, first things first, let's get something to eat." As if to break the tense atmosphere, he deliberately pointed to the pile of potatoes.

"Fill your stomachs with those potatoes. In the meantime, I'll go secure some alchemy supplies."

Anxious gazes all focused on him. ...Well, that was to be expected.

"You're curious, aren't you? About why I had a High Potion." He paused intentionally to draw everyone's attention before continuing.

"The truth is, I'm an acquaintance of the daughter of this Tree Sea Defense Force's former captain. ...And that daughter is an alchemist. I'm going to ask for her cooperation now."

Of course, he knew the risks. But they no longer had any other options.