'You should be thankful for last night, gentlemen! I will now communicate a new policy!

　Rolf's angry voice echoed in the square in front of the castle gate in the strong noon sunshine.

''Lady Shardina, Lady Celia, Lady Orlando, and this eagle will be the commander of the troops, with three to forty men attached to each of them, and we will begin our search for the southern and eastern borders!　The organization is as previously announced. As you all know, the otherworlder who is believed to be the culprit has killed Master Jesus. Each one of you must be very careful. Then, each one of you must begin moving quickly!

　Rolf remembered last night as he watched the soldiers being organized.


　Ryoma and the Imperial pursuers who had passed him at the castle gates.
　Celia, Rolf, Orlando, and Shardina had spent the afternoon and midnight searching and tracking.
　But the Kingsguard, who had left the gates, had vanished without a trace, and their whereabouts could not be traced.

What the hell is going on here?

　Celia's shout echoed through the castle gates of the imperial capital Oltmere.
　The kinsmen who had been unleashed in all directions returned to the front of the castle gates, the assembly point, without any kind of harvest.
　They are all nodding in unison as they have no clue what is going on.
　In the end, all we know is that the armor-clad members of the Kingsguard left around 2 p.m.
　This is only about twenty minutes before Celia and her team came to the gates to organize their troops.
　From then until midnight, the ten hours of searching were completely wasted.

''Calm down. ''Celia-dono.''

Lady Shardina....

The tone of Celia's voice drops.

'Let's call it a day for now we're all tired.

Shardina's eyes look around.
No soldier is blatantly appealing to me for fatigue, but I can see that fatigue is building up and dissipating.

''But..............''

Celia defended herself, but Shardina didn't back down.

''No matter how much we're around the imperial capital, it's still dangerous at night. Let's rethink our countermeasures once and start over tomorrow.''

'Hmm. Master Shardina is right. We'd better have a new start. What do you think? Lord Celia.

There are no words to say to Rolf's words, even as Celia.
It's just that the emotional part of me can't accept the reality that I'm letting the murderer of my immediate family members go free.

'Orlando-dono, send Celia-dono to the pavilion. It's been a tough day for Celia-sama with the death of Guyess-sama.

No. I can go home alone!

I'm sure you'll be able to find a way to make it work.
But in the eyes of those around him, it was a bluff.

You don't want to push yourself too hard, do you? Lady Celia. Lord Orland, take care of Lord Celia.

'Ha! Come on, Lady Celia.

At Shardina's words, Orlando reacted quickly and tried to take Celia in his arms.

'Orland! Let go. I can go home alone.

But as soon as she repelled Orlando's hand, Celia lost her balance and fell down.
It's not surprising.
It's not surprising, since they had been desperately searching for more than 10 hours without a break.
In the end, Celia was carried by Orlando and returned to the pavilion.

Shardina-sama. What do you want?

I don't think there's anything we can do about it...

At Rolf's question, Shardina shrugged her shoulders and said simply.

''Is it still impossible........''

The game was won within 10 minutes of the Kingsguard leaving the gates.

But it's still quite a stretch to organize.

Hearing Shardina's words, a look of bitterness appeared on Rolf's face as he took command of gathering the troops.
He is proud of the fact that he did his best, but the effort was meaningless if he could not capture them as a result.

'I know, I know. I don't blame you for anything. Master Rolf.

Shardina shifted her gaze to the forest.

'The chances of capturing him in the vicinity of the Imperial City were low to begin with. After all, we don't know what he looks like or how old he is, do we? Still, if he was still wandering around dressed as a Kingsguard, there was a chance of securing him, but.......

You don't dress for the Kingsguard anymore?

Probably....yeah.

Shardina nodded at Rolf's words.
(I'd quickly change my clothes if I were you.......I'm being pursued....

So what do you want to do? From now on,

We got the borders sealed, and then...

Shardina shook her head.

'We'll just have to keep going tomorrow as we explore towards the border.

'But. Which border are we headed for....

Rolf's concern is reasonable.
It's true that the Oltmere Empire is one of the five major powers in the western continent.
However, because it is an inland invading nation, it is blocked on all sides by hostile nations.
The reason why the number of people in the chase unit this time, no matter how hastily organized, is about 150 people, is because they are sticking troops near the borders to defend against neighboring countries, and the reason why they can't mobilize a large number of the Imperial Capital's knights of the Kingsguard and the Knights of the Paramount Guard is to prepare for the edge of war when it opens.
Now that the faces and ages of the targets are unknown, and they can't choose between man and sea tactics, there is no way Rolf, a warrior, can build countermeasures.

''For now, we can narrow it down to two options.

Rolf gives Shardina's words a surprising look.

'Two choices? Then you think Lady Shardina is south or east?

The distance from the imperial capital to the border comes to Rolf's mind dimly.
It's only natural that when you say that you have two choices, you think of the nearest south and the next closest east from the imperial capital.

Yes. But probably the east........

May I ask why?

Shardina responded with a smile.

'It's a hunch, to be honest. However, I don't think it will come off first.'

Shardina turned to Rolf and said.

'He's enough to escape this castle and shake off our pursuit. He won't run away without a fight.'

'Then Lord Shardina says that the otherworlders know the geography...?

The look on Rolf's face told him that such a thing was impossible.

'Perhaps....'

'But then, wouldn't you choose the shortest south? I wouldn't choose East, sir?

At the very least, if Rolf is going to escape, he will choose the shortest route.
If he doesn't get out of the country as soon as possible, his life will be in danger.
There was no need to take the long way.
Rolf thought about it.

Yes, he thought. ─ Yes, the only way to escape is south. "Yes, but we'll have to assume that.

'Assuming what is predicted, you're choosing the East? No way... any number of things.

Melancholy comes over Shardina's face.

'Rolf. I hope my fears are unfounded, too. But, you know, we've been outsmarted this far, haven't we? If they underestimate you, the worst thing you can do is get them out of the country.

Rolf said thoughtfully.

'Certainly ... but I can't dismiss the possibility of the south ...'

He made a pragmatic decision.
That is his strength and his weakness.

I know what you're going to say. It's only a hunch that they've gone east so I'll leave the south to Lady Celia, Rolf and Orlando, and I'll head east.

'I certainly don't think that's a bad idea but then we should split up between two of us, shouldn't we?

His suggestion is a reasonable one.
Normally, he would undoubtedly cut the squad in half.
But Shardina shook her head at Rolf's suggestion.

''No, the east is just my hunch. Besides, I'm afraid of just Orlando alone to suppress Celia........well, I also have an excellent deputy commander. It'll be fine.

It reminded Rolf of Celia, who is usually so calm and ruthless that she is even called the "Queen of the Blizzard", going into a tantrum and shouting at him.
(Certainly... as Your Highness has pointed out, it would be dangerous to have Orlando-dono alone to restrain the current unsteady Celia-dono... but if that fellow is present, Your Highness is in no danger.
Hearing Shardina's words, Rolf instantly calculated.
In his mind, the image of the excellent deputy commander that Shardina had mentioned clearly flashed through his mind.

''I understand. Then I will organize the troops that way.''

Please. Master Rolf.

Rolf bowed his head and whipped his tired body into an all-night vigil to reorganize his troops.
To capture the one otherworldly person.


'Master Rolf! We're done moving troops out! We can leave immediately.

One of his lieutenants came to report.

Lady Shardina. Shall we go?

Shardina responded to Rolf's words by pointing her sword beyond the castle gates.

'March!'

With Rolf's angry voice, the 150-man cavalcade starts running.
Pursuing an otherworldly person who can't even see a shadow.


Shardina, who was running at the front, was accompanied by her deputy, Saito, who was running alongside her.

''Your Highness. We have closed the barrier in Adelfo as you ordered.''

Yeah. Good job. You're home early.

That's the order I gave yesterday afternoon.
Even though they rode their horses to get there, they were quite fast.
Shardina had a satisfied look on her face at Saito's report.

''Do you intend to catch them in Adelfo town?

Saito was in his mid-thirties.
With his hair parted into seventy-three buns, he had the look of an elite office worker.
Put on a pair of glasses and a business suit and you can easily blend in.
You will be able to get a good deal more information about the company and its products.

''Oh? Did I say that?

'No, sir. That's why I'm asking. Your Highness.

Shardina asked somewhat grimly, as if the answer did not meet her expectations.

'Then let me ask you. My good chief of staff. Do you think you can capture the otherworlders in Adelfo town?'

No. That would be impossible.

Saito said simply.
This time the answer seemed to be to Shardina's liking.
He asked back with some laughter.

''Oh? Why is that?

How do we find a person whose face we don't recognize? Or do you have any information that could help you identify the man in question?

This was the main problem with this mission.
What I know is that he's an otherworldly man, tall and well-built, with a smart and unforgiving personality.
That's about it.
To put it bluntly, there are many such people in the imperial capital.
No, not just in the imperial capital, but all over the western continent.
In last night's chase, I searched around on the assumption that the other party was wearing the armor of a Kingsguard, but I had no clue as to their footsteps after they left the city gates.

''Well........hmph. There's no way to look for them if you don't even know their faces.''

Saito's eyes narrowed at Shardina's smile.

''Then what are you going to do?''

It's okay. We don't know what they look like. We'll have to ask them to tell us. He said it was a killer.

Hearing Shardina's words, a sharp light dwells in Saito's eyes.
It's proof that his brain has gotten what his lord is thinking.

''I see. Is that why you had Adelfo's barrier closed down........''

Yes. Though I can't expect much, since we're limited in the number of people we can use...

How would you like to move the Adelfo garrison?

Shardina shook her head at Saito's suggestion.

''It's impossible. You can't move the border garrison because if you do, you will be attacked by Zaruda. I can't ask the nobles for help.

Well the good news is that the noblemen will be more than happy to find out.

Shardina smiled bitterly as she imagined what would happen if this incident was leaked to the Imperial nobility and neighboring countries.

''It's not a good time to go public at some point. So I have to choose my means... though it's not looking good.''

Saito nodded silently at Shardina's words.