Volume 4 Chapter 41 Conquer Kleinburg
In Marquis Burgmüller's domain lies the capital, Kleinburg.
Amidst the dark night, the 4 of us were waiting near the southern gate for Ai's return.
Fortunately, our eldest has gone ahead to scout the town for us.
If it's Kunoichi, the secret within secrets, there should be no room for error.
"No need for scouting, let's just charge in, I wanna cause some chaos already!"
"That's a definite no-go."
Of course, it was Miloslaf who blurted out such nonsense.
Does this old man not understand strategy at all?
"If we make a commotion, we'll just get surrounded. We should hit the Romanov army's headquarters all at once. For that, we need to confirm the location."
We can't always go along with what Miloslaf says, but Suzu explained the benefits of scouting to him in simple terms.
We'll just end up tired if we blindly slash through our enemies searching.
"I'm back."
"Whoa!?"
Ai's voice suddenly came from behind, and my back tensed up.
When did she get back?
There was no sign of her at all.
"What's wrong, papa?"
Seeing my flustered state, Ai tilts her head curiously.
She doesn't look tired at all.
I guess this level of scouting is a piece of cake for her.
"Well... with you now, I feel like you could scratch my neck..."
"Hehe, I'll take that as a compliment."
Ai chuckles at my half-serious joke.
Still, she's become quite expressive.
She was so reserved when she first came to our home.
"Alright, let me tell you about the inside of the town... First off, there are a lot of soldiers both inside and outside the south gate. I guess they're expecting to be attacked from the south."
Well, it's as expected.
Of course, they wouldn't leave their southern front, which is the enemy's main approach, weak.
In fact, we've confirmed plenty of Romanov soldiers before we got here.
Though they're all dog food now.
"So, about the enemy's location──"
As she spoke, Ai's expression clouded over.
Did something happen?
"...Near the center of the town, there's something that looks like an altar built. A lot of soldiers are guarding it. I think it must be an important place. I hadn't heard about such an altar in the information we got earlier."
"An altar..."
That keyword struck a chord with me.
When it comes to altars, they're always connected to the Dark Mages, starting with Emerada.
"...What do you think, Miloslaf?"
"I think you're right, Count."
When I asked Miloslaf, it seemed he had the same idea.
That is, that altar must belong to the Dark Mages.
No, there's no doubt about it.
The reason I can say that is──
"Before we set out, there was an incident where the bodies of the Romanov soldiers and the surveillance troops disappeared. That must have been turned into a Mana Crystal."
Miloslaf silently nodded in agreement with my speculation.
Mana Crystals are made from human lives.
It seems that all the surveillance troops, except for one who happened to come to report to the town, were sacrificed."
And if they build an altar in the town, it means──this time they plan to turn the townspeople into <Mana Crystals>.
I don't know if it's everyone, but probably it's already happening.
"Everyone, drink this."
I rummaged through my magic bag and took out enough potion bottles for everyone.
Inside, there was a murky brown liquid that obviously isn't good for drinking.
"Eh... what is this, Big Bro Ryuuji?"
Minori shows a clear disgusted face.
I understand how she feels.
I do, but──
"This is a special potion made by Lene. Drink it if you don't want to become a <Mana Crystal>."
When I told her about the incident where the guards disappeared, Lene quickly made this potion for us.
It's a refined antidote from when I almost became a fiend by Adiliana's scheme, and it seems to prevent <Mana Crystal> transformation.
Just hearing about the incident and coming up with a plan so fast──that's what makes her a genius, and it's scary.
"Well, if you say so, I guess I have no choice but to drink."
I drank first, and Minori and the others gave up and took theirs too.
It's bitter and powdery.
Lene should really care a bit more about how the medicine tastes.
"...Now then, Miloslaf. I want to ask──you said besides Emerada, was there another Dark Mage in <Gualerto>?"
We decided to storm from the east all together and prepared for the attack, then I asked something that was bothering me.
Ferron and Adiliana are servants of Emerada, so I didn't include them.
If there's another Dark Mage, they're probably managing Kleinburg's altar.
"Yeah, there is. ...But just one."
"Just one...?"
Did he just say one?
If that's the case──
"It's Pope Rudolf. He must be here."
...The enemy was a bigger deal than I thought.
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