"Come to think of it, you weren't there the following year, were you? Did you spend too much money that year?"
"N-No. Um... my grandfather passed away the next year, so..."
"Ah, I see."
Listening to her explanation, I nodded in understanding.
She had been in mourning, so she hardly had the luxury for such things.
Of course, there were no laws prohibiting it, nor even any unwritten rules.
It was simply that, under normal circumstances, no one went out and spent a massive sum of money just to purchase prestige right after the pillar and de facto head of their family passed away.
Naturally, I couldn't recall what happened the year after that.
I only vaguely remembered the "following year" I had just asked Etna about, which was why I had paid attention to her back then, but the year after that had completely slipped from my mind.
As far as I could recall by process of elimination, she hadn't been there, so she likely hadn't made use of the honorary knight system since.
"Um... why are you here, Your Majesty? I was certain you would be with the army..."
"Your assumption is correct; I was putting on an act of dissipation. But I wanted to know what the enemy truly thinks, so I've been playing the part of a spy."
"B-By yourself?"
Etna looked astonished.
I glanced to the side—toward Luke, who had tactfully kept his distance after Etna and I began talking.
From the way Etna spoke, it seemed she hadn't taken any notice of Luke at all.
"Since it's an infiltration, it's nimbler with just one person. Besides, if possible, I want to hear the appraisals of Eiler with my own ears."
"What?! There's no need to bother with someone like him. He's incompetent and gets way ahead of himself."
"Yet he defeated the Imperial Army once."
"Huh?"
"Hm?"
"You don't know?"
"Know what?"
"The one who defeated the Imperial Army was a man named Ryde."
"Ryde Memedoh?"
"Yes."
"What about him?"
"He was shoved into his wife's tomb."
"Shoved—a funerary sacrificial burial?!"
That genuinely took me by surprise.
Etna wore a look that seemed to say, You didn't know? which only astonished me further.
"I had heard about the funerary sacrificial burial, but... No, doing something that utterly foolish is simply..."
"Um, Your Majesty is overestimating that guy way too much. If you hear the reason, you'll be appalled."
"What is it? What's the reason?"
"He thought that if he didn't shove—I mean, sacrifice a real big shot into his wife's tomb, the sincerity of his love for her wouldn't get across. That was his reasoning, you know?"
"......"
I was dumbfounded.
What an utterly bizarre turn of events.
"..."
I was seized by the urge to ask if it was really true.
Though I figured asking Etna wouldn't yield anything definitive.
I turned toward Luke.
"Luke."
"Y-Yes, sir!"
"Return to Henry at once. Have him investigate the current state of the man named Ryde Memedoh with everything he has."
"Y-Yes, sir!"
Luke spun around and dashed off, his footsteps pattering away.
Whether he understood the full scope of the situation or was merely gauging it from my tone, he wore a dead-serious expression as he sprinted away at full tilt.
"Thank you for informing me, Etna. You have my gratitude."
"N-No! As long as I could be of help."
"I'm sorry, but we part ways here."
"Are you returning?"
"No, I will proceed to infiltrate the provincial capital as planned."
"The provincial capital... Huh? You're going to where Eiler is?"
"Since I've come all this way, I want to see what's actually happening with my own eyes."
He had made me curious about this man named Eiler in a different sense—or so I thought, though I decided not to say it aloud.
"It's dangerous."
"It's not a problem."
As long as I moved alone, there would be no issue.
Hiding my presence was something I could do effortlessly.
Mule was here, though... that was the only slight problem.
"...Um, I-I'll go with you."
"Hm?"
"I'll guide you through the provincial capital. You're gathering intelligence, right? I know where you can do that efficiently."
"Hmm."
I gave a small nod, pondering it.
Even if I could handle infiltrating and escaping without issue, I didn't know where to go to gather information efficiently.
In that regard, having a local guide would certainly be a help.
After thinking it over for a moment, I was just about to open my mouth to accept Etna's offer when—
"Hm?"
Suddenly, the sound of shouting reached my ears from within the village.
As I turned toward the commotion, Etna noticed it a moment later and looked toward the village center as well.
"What's going on?"
"Milady! Please run!"
One of the men who had been serving meals came running from the depths of the village, his face pale with terror.
"Milady—gah!"
An arrow flew from behind the running man, plunging deep into his back.
His body convulsed violently, his eyes flew wide open, and he collapsed face-forward onto the ground.
Immediately after, a separate group emerged from the back of the village, looking entirely distinct from the relief workers.
They were soldiers.
Soldiers dressed in gear that closely resembled the Imperial Army's.
They poured out from the back of the village in a disorderly swarm, and combined with the narrow pathways, it was hard to tell just how many there were.
"Are there over fifty?"
A hundred and two, Leviathan confirmed inside my mind.
A hundred, huh... That's a bit troublesome.
As I was considering the best course of action, the soldiers stomped forward noisily and came to a halt right in front of Etna.
"You're Etna Aiwan, aren't you?"
The man at the lead, who looked like the squad captain judging by his attire, demanded confirmation.
"...And what if I am?"
Feeling the dangerous tension in the air, Etna stiffened her expression and shot the question back.
"You're coming with us."
"Why?"
"It's your father's fault for refusing to hand over the food supplies. But once his precious only daughter is captured, well..."
The soldier grinned, the corner of his mouth twisting into a sneer.
I see, that's straightforward enough, I thought.
Right now, the Eiler Army was sustaining its supplies through pillaging.
Naturally, rather than just looting commoners, they were likely demanding cooperation from merchants and local figures of influence as well.
From what he said, they had made that demand of Etna's father, a grain merchant, but he had refused. So they came to take his daughter hostage to force his compliance.
"Cowards!"
"Say whatever you like—Hey!"
The captain gestured with a jerk of his chin toward the subordinates behind him.
At that, several young soldiers stepped forward, brandishing their weapons as they moved toward Etna.
I stepped forward.
Before the soldiers' hands could reach Etna, I swiftly stepped between them, positioning myself to shield her.
"Your Majesty! Please run! Their objective is a ransom, so I'll be fine!"
Etna panicked.
Even when she had been the target herself, she had barely faltered, but the moment I stepped in front of her, she completely lost her composure.
"Your Majesty?"
I didn't answer, but the soldier captain reacted.
He looked back and forth between Etna and me.
As expected, he likely never dreamed the Emperor was right here, so his reaction to Etna's words was merely along the lines of, What is that supposed to mean?
"I suppose it can't be helped."
I let out a quiet sigh.
They might not understand it now, but it would be troublesome if they took this information back with them.
I thrust out my hand and summoned Leviathan from within my bracelet.
The Magic Sword of Water, shrunk down to the size of a needle, rapidly expanded back to its original size before our very eyes.
Gripping Leviathan, I took a stance.
And then—I stepped forward.
I lunged in faster than the soldiers could even react.
Closing the distance instantly, I cut down soldier after soldier with Leviathan's sword arts.
Leviathan's blade trailed an afterglow of light as it sent sprays of blood bursting through the air.
One after another, the soldiers were struck down.
By the time I had slashed through about twenty of them, the rest of the group finally snapped back to their senses.
However, their will to fight did not return.
Seeing twenty of their comrades slaughtered in an instant by a single man, paralyzed by sheer incomprehension and terror, most of the soldiers scrambled to flee, practically climbing over one another.
"I'm sorry, but I can't let you escape. Leviathan."
"As you command."
The moment Leviathan responded to my call, an overwhelming pressure—one I had seen repeatedly since the days of Leviathan—was unleashed toward the soldiers.
The soldiers who had lost their fighting spirit and turned their backs to flee suddenly shuddered and froze in place, one after another.
"Always being needlessly considerate."
With a faint, wry smile, I went around cutting down the immobilized soldiers.
With Leviathan's power, it would have been effortless to knock them all unconscious with intimidation alone, but Leviathan had deliberately restrained the pressure to merely stopping their movements.
She froze them in place so that I could deliver the finishing blows.
Though there were a hundred of them, with Leviathan's power turning them into mere scarecrows, I cut them down one by one.
It took less than ten minutes to strike down every last one.
In the blink of an eye, all the soldiers had been slaughtered, reduced to cold corpses.
And then—
"I-Incredible..."
Just as Leviathan had intended with her thoughtfulness, Etna stared at me with eyes full of awe, having watched me cut down a hundred men in a flash.