Surviving game as a barbarian Episode 710
Conscription 5
A large chamber located deep within the Hall of Glory.
“What? Say that again.”
As I slammed my desk and demanded an answer, Marquis Tercerion, the Prime Minister and current Supreme Commander, replied without a single change in his expression.
“I will say this one last time. As Supreme Commander, I cannot permit your transfer request.”
This was his response to my request to be sent back to the front lines with my clan. Although it was an obvious answer, I found it hard to accept.
Because none of the reasons made sense to me.
“Why is a reassignment impossible?”
“You are a titled noble.”
“I have heard that reassignments are permitted when the individual requests them.”
“The military does not act for the benefit of individuals, but for the benefit of the collective.”
“And why would me going there not serve the collective’s interests?”
This might not have been very barbarian of me, but this time I laid out my argument as logically as possible in an attempt to persuade him.
However…
“You have duties to fulfill within the Military Command. And I have determined that this ‘mission’ is more important than going to the front lines and fighting directly.”
“Duties…?”
“This is just between us, but… the imperial capital, Karnon, isn’t safe either. The Noarkans have gone into hiding here, and even the Intelligence Bureau has yet to uncover what they’re planning.”
“…So what does that have to do with me?”
“No matter how sturdy a building is, if its pillars collapse, it will eventually fall. The titled nobles gathered here are the pillars that support this nation.”
“No, I’m asking what that has to do with me.”
“No one in this city is more specialized in protecting others than you. . I am not asking much. Simply stay here and prepare for any contingency.”
“Ha…….”
I let out a heavy sigh. At least now, I finally understood why he was trying to keep me here.
Ah, of course, that doesn’t mean I agreed with it.
‘I’m a barbarian anyway, aren’t I?’
A simple-minded warrior who knows nothing but fighting.
A savage of this era, unbound by laws and reason.
‘Well, it’s just that I’m a little worried about the consequences…….’
Sigh, so what am I supposed to do then?
Ignore everything and smash my way through?
“Or…”
That was when it happened.
As if he sensed that I was entertaining some dangerous thoughts, the Marquis muttered in a placating tone.
“But then again… the reason we cannot send you is entirely because of those Noarkians hiding in this city. If you were to root them all out, things might be different. In that case, I might be able to grant your request.”Ignore everything and smash my way through?
“Or…”
That was when it happened.
As if sensing that I was entertaining some dangerous thoughts, the Marquis muttered in a placating tone.
“But then again… the reason we cannot send you is entirely because of those Noarkians hiding in this city. If you were to root them all out, things might be different. In that case, I might be able to grant your request.”
At those words, a “ding!” notification seemed to go off in my head.
“A kind of prerequisite quest, then…”
Fine. So all I have to do is clear this.
***
When playing games, there are moments like this.
A restricted area you cannot normally enter, blocked off by warning signs, until you complete a certain quest and it opens up.
In a way, the current situation was exactly like that.
[Root out all Noarkan special forces hiding in the imperial capital Karnon.]
If I clear this quest, I can leave the imperial capital and legally go to the front lines where my allies are.
The only disappointing part was…
“Then bring my clan here. I will personally take responsibility for finding them.”
“That is not possible.”
“Are you telling me to do this all on my own?”
“Even if you say that, what cannot be done, cannot be done. If we show preferential treatment to your clan, what will other explorers think? No one will genuinely want to fight for the Royal Family.”
I tried to negotiate for a bit of leeway, but the marquiss shut it down immediately.
“Of course, you will need manpower. I will assign appropriate personnel to you separately.”
At least I got manpower, so it was not a meaningless attempt.
“Let me be clear. You and the personnel assigned to you are organized solely for a special mission. Your affiliation is still with the Military Command.”
“Understood.”
“I am saying this because you don’t seem to have grasped the situation properly. I repeat: you must never leave the Imperial Capital, Karnon, of your own accord. If you do, I will have no choice but to consider it desertion.”
“…I said I understand.”
“Good. Then you may leave.”
Once my meeting with the marquess was over, I returned to the Palace of Glory’s main hall and spent some time chatting with the other titled nobles to gather information.
“Haha! What is there to worry about? This incident is nothing but their last desperate struggle. The power of the royal family is absolute.”
“I heard the whole area is going to be swept clean soon, so I’m waiting to see how that goes.”
“Speaking of which, seeing as His Majesty the King has not appeared even in this situation, it seems his illness will last for quite some time.”
Most of it was useless chatter.
Still, I spoke with as many people as possible and listened.
And after some time had passed…
“Baron Jandel, the support unit assigned to you by the supreme commander has arrived.”
I was able to meet the ‘manpower’ the Marquis mentioned much faster than expected.
Total personnel: 19. Including me, the military command’s special search unit would operate as a twenty-person squad.
Not bad.
But there was one thing that surprised me.
“…Jandel?”
“Raven…?”
Hmm, I did not expect the Marquis to assign her as well.
“Do not tell me you are the one in charge of this Special Search Unit, Jandel…?”
Raven looked just as shocked, clearly not having heard about me beforehand.
Because I knew how capable Raven was, I offered my hand eagerly. Yet as she shook it, there was a hint of dissatisfaction on her face.
“…Ah, this is suddenly making me really nervous.”
“Nervous?”
“It’s nothing. I just realized it’s going to be a very, very dangerous mission.”
“Don’t worry. I don’t plan on causing any trouble.”
“When did you ever plan to cause trouble?”
Hey, don’t be so harsh on the barbarian.
“Anyway, what exactly are we supposed to do?”
“Huh? Didn’t you hear anything before coming?”
“No. Other than that we’d be doing some kind of search work, I heard nothing. It was such an urgent summons, I just figured it must be quite an important matter. So, what is it?”
She clearly had no idea why she was here, so I explained the mission we were going to carry out.
“So basically, we’re going to track down people that even the Royal Intelligence Bureau couldn’t find?”
Raven’s expression was already gloomy. I felt a little sorry for her, but I swallowed my pride and bowed my head.
“Please help me with this.”
“Sir, even if you say that… it’s not like I have superpowers or anything…”
“I have to do this to go back to my allies.”
When I looked at her with desperate eyes, Raven finally let out the deep sigh she’d been holding in.
“…Alright. I will do my best.”
“That is enough.”
I wasn’t saying that lightly.
Given how long we had known each other, she knew that those words meant I was genuinely ready to give it my all.
“The Marquis actually put some thought into this.”
Why would the marquiss, who always did things I disliked, suddenly do something I approved of?
Surprised as I was, I still went over to greet the rest of the unit.
“As you all know, I am Bjorn, son of Jandel. You there, what is your name?”
“Marcus Beitlan, sir.”
“Oh, from the Beitlan barony?”
“Not from the main line, but from a branch, Lord Baron.”
I took the time to ask each of them who they were and what they specialized in.
To summarize, there were ten knights, three mages, and five ‘search operatives’ who are treated as special positions even within the military…….
“So as a searcher, operative your abilities are suited for tracking?”
“That’s correct.”
“How effective is your ability?”
“Within a 20-meter radius, no one can escape our eyes.”
Their voices were filled with genuine pride.
And it did not feel unfounded.
“You may already know this, but whenever royal knights stand guard at the city gates, one of us search operatives is always assigned.”
If the royal family trusted them with gate security, their abilities were proven.
I then turned my attention to the final member.
A man wearing a plain black uniform with no insignia or markings.
“You are from the Intelligence Bureau?”
“That is correct, Baron.”
“Your name?”
“Intelligence department regulations prevent me from disclosing that. I ask for your generous understanding.”
“Then just answer this one thing for me. Is your first or last name Hans?”
“…?”
“It is important. If you cannot answer, I will have no choice but to dismiss you, even if you work in the intelligence bureau.”
“I don’t know why you’re asking that, but I am not Hans.”
“Do you swear on the name of the royal family?”
“…I swear.”
Okay, so there’s no Hans.
Someone from the Intelligence Bureau would not lie under the royal name.
“Then what should I call you?”
“Call me Nameless.”
With that speech, that outfit, and a name like Nameless, it was obvious at a glance that he didn’t have many friends.
Alright, I’ve decided.
“Nameless is too long.”
“What do you mean it is too long—”
“From now on, I’ll call you ‘Mumu’ for short.”
After being given his new name, Mumu looked confused about what I meant.
“…How is that a shortening?”
“Mumu and Nameless. The pronunciation is shorter, is it not?”
“…?”
“If you do not like it, tell me your real name. I will call you that.”
When I prodded him casually, Mumu let out a deep sigh and shook his head.
“Forget it. What does a name matter? Call me whatever you want.”
“Alright, Mumu.”
“…….”
Despite giving permission, the guy made a face like he’d swallowed something bitter. He clearly didn’t like the name.
Well, there was no reason for me to care.
He was clearly someone the Marquis had planted, so there was no reason to treat him kindly.
“Anyway, before we begin the search, I want to hear what the Intelligence Bureau has already uncovered.”
“I figured you’d ask, so I prepared it in advance.”
Mumu from the intelligence department briefed me on which districts they had searched, what they found, and the clues they’d gathered. We went over the information for a while, but ultimately nothing stood out.
“If I must put it that way, yes…….”
“So you searched everywhere and still couldn’t find even a single hair of theirs?”
“Hmm, in that case, it’s possible that all the infiltrated Noarkans have no hair on their heads.”
“……Are you being serious?”
“No, it was a joke?”
Does he think that barbarians don’t have brains?
“Alright. Let us go outside first.”
“Do you have a specific place in mind?”
“No, but if we walk around, something might come to mind.”
“……”
Mumu looked like he had a lot to say, but he held it in. It was the look of someone who thought this was just a way to kill time.
“Still, thanks to you, we have narrowed things down somewhat.”
“…?”
“If they were hiding in ordinary places, they would have been found already.”
At that, his expression immediately shifted to exasperation. Still, obvious or not, it was honestly the most important point.
“It seems you haven’t searched the mansions of the nobles.”
“Baron? Surely you don’t intend to…”
Even as he spoke, his expression said he could not believe I would go that far.
But I had no intention of compromising on this.
“What’s strange about that? There might be families colluding with the Noarkans.”
“Do you think we ignored that possibility?”
“Raven, does our Special Search Unit have the authority to search inside noble mansions?”
“I am not sure. Probably not?”
“Then we do from now on.”
At my shameless reply, Mumu turned pale and looked at Raven, but Raven simply nodded calmly.
“Yes. The Marquis created this unit, so he can deal with the aftermath. Besides, all the heads of households are gathered in the Palace of Glory. The servants will not dare stop us.”
“What are the two of you even talking about?”
“Good. Then we’re done here. Hurry up. We need to conduct as many raids as possible before the heads of the houses catch on and start moving.”
“Uh… but what exactly do you mean by ‘raids’…?” Raven asked
“That means if we find anything suspicious, we’ll take it with us to examine later.”
“Ah…”
Judging by the contempt on her face, she clearly understood that my real aim was to rummage through the houses and quietly pocket anything that caught my interest.
Perhaps she was too tired to try to stop me anymore.
With a look of resignation in her eyes, Raven asked,
“Then which family do we start with?”
Oh, that?
Isn’t it obvious?
“Our first destination is the House of Marquis Terserion.”
I wonder what could be hidden inside the Prime Minister’s household?
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