Check out my new translation!
=====
The first thing I saw upon arriving at Ark was the ever-familiar brutal sight of the frontlines.
Corpses, corpses, and more corpses.
Countless soldiers who would never return home, their remains left unrecovered, mingled with the carcasses of beasts and monsters.
Corpses that retained their forms would be retrieved, but as for the rest—those mangled flesh fragments would be gathered and sent to the joint funeral halls.
Ark had hardly any funeral halls.
Only a few massive joint crematoriums and memorial sites existed.
There were simply too many dying for anyone to receive a proper burial. In Ark, a funeral inevitably meant being buried alongside others.
["…How horrifying."]
"Maybe."
["You're heartless. Don't you feel anything seeing all those people dead?"]
"It was necessary."
["You're cruel."]
By now, I was beginning to lose track of whether Esther's words were genuine or not.
Part of me thought they were just another instinctive deception to manipulate humans, but another part wondered if perhaps she really meant them.
"..."
Perhaps I was a little sentimental myself.
A waste of time.
["So, where are we going now?"]
"I'm going to see Isabel."
["The Commander?"]
"Yes."
I headed straight for the Shadow Order' hideout.
It was to detect any unusual activity that might arise from other factions, especially the Rose Cross Knight Order.
Of course, it was true that the Shadow Order' intel capabilities had declined since Esther's departure—but even decayed, it was still formidable.
"You're here? From the look on your face, you've brought more trouble. And Esther's here too. Been well?"
["Commander! It's been a while!"]
"Ugh… don't touch me. I'm exhausted."
["What happened to you? Where'd you get hurt like this? Who was it?!"]
"…Just leave me alone. You shouting like that makes my head ring."
Isabel, sprawled across a sofa, responded weakly.
Judging by the condition of the other members in the hideout, they too had clearly been through some brutal fighting in the recent war.
"Ugh… I'm going to die."
"Wrap that bandage tighter, would you?"
"Tch, human bodies are fragile."
"You bastards are just disgustingly durable, damn monsters."
Sophia Belov and Turncoat Rook bickered in a corner of the Shadow Order base, coloring the scene with their squabble.
I walked past them and sat directly across from Isabel.
Naturally, Esther had taken a seat beside me somewhere—it was only to be expected.
"I need you to look into something."
As I opened my mouth, Isabel slowly opened her eyes from where she lay slouched.
Then she looked at me with eyes like the depths of the sea.
"What is it?"
"I want you to monitor which factions are moving within Ark."
"Factions? Like who?"
"The Rose Cross Knight Order."
Her half-lidded eyes narrowed at the mention.
"Hmm… I knew it. Another headache. I figured as much."
Despite her words, Isabel didn't refuse me.
After all, I still held the Fragment of the Sail—the key to her long-cherished goal.
"Then I'll leave it to you."
"Where are you off to this time?"
"Somewhere I need to go."
"The way you're dodging, I'm guessing you've no plans to tell me?"
Currently, the Shadow Order and Möbius were on hostile terms.
Partly due to past incidents, but mostly because the two groups were fundamentally incompatible.
So, there was no benefit to telling the Shadow Order that I planned to visit Möbius.
"If you really want to know, I suppose I could tell you. Want to hear it?"
Still, I said this because I didn't want to give Isabel the impression I was hiding anything.
Though, even if she said yes, I had no intention of honestly telling her.
"…Forget it. You wouldn't tell me anyway. You'd just come up with some irritating condition. Just go."
Maybe it's because she's spent so much time with ghosts, but she had a ghost-like intuition.
"So be it."
After finishing my conversation with Isabel, I turned to leave.
I had to move quickly if I wanted to meet Brigadier General Victor.
As I headed out, Sophia Belov—who had been wrapping her injuries in the corner—glanced at me.
"Heading out already?"
"I'll be back soon. Make sure the investigation's thorough."
"Investigation? What investigation?"
"Ask Isabel."
"Bossy bastard… Someone might think you're the Commander."
She stuck out her tongue at me as she muttered.
Naturally, I ignored her.
* * *
Leaving the Shadow Order' hideout, I headed straight for the Blue Line and sought out Brigadier General Victor, commander of the Blue Line Defense Headquarters and a member of Möbius.
Fortunately, I didn't need to go all the way to the Special Purpose Weapons Research Facility—Victor was in his office, busy handling work.
It was understandable. With the recent multi-wave just concluded, a commander would naturally have a mountain of tasks.
"Well, this is unexpected. What brings you all the way here, the ever-rude Carl Marcus?"
"I have a request."
Brigadier General Victor smirked bitterly.
"A request… After ignoring my request so casually?"
"I didn't ignore it."
"Then it must've been pushed down your priority list. Either way, I've little reason to grant yours."
He was right.
I owed Möbius a few favors—but hadn't fulfilled any of them.
While I couldn't possibly carry out his request to find the Fragment of the Sail outside Ark and destroy it, from Victor's standpoint, he had every reason to be displeased.
"This is for Ark."
"I'm sure it is. The great Carl Marcus wouldn't lift a finger unless it were."
Victor didn't argue the legitimacy of my request.
He merely stated that he wouldn't grant it.
Whether what I intended to do was right or wrong—he simply didn't care.
"Look here, Carl Marcus. I actually respect you. Even when you pulled off a near-swindle against us, I let it go—that alone proves it. But everything has its limits. Don't you think it's time you gave something back?"
He was saying he'd let me take advantage long enough.
Now it was time for results.
"What do you want?"
"You already know, don't you?"
The request he'd previously made—find the Fragment of the Sail somewhere outside Ark and destroy it.
'I could lie about that…'
I already knew exactly what Victor was looking for.
So, I could easily pretend I'd found it and disposed of it.
'But… I don't want to.'
Victor may not be a saint, but he's someone who has believed in and supported me thus far.
Even if I have just cause, I didn't want to lie to someone like that.
'And… lying to Victor will only end up tightening the noose around my neck.'
Broken trust cannot be restored.
And I've suffered too many consequences from such breaches to risk it again.
"I see. Nothing to be done then."
I turned away.
If Victor refused, I couldn't force him.
I had hoped to make this work, but as things stood, I had no choice but to rely entirely on the Shadow Order' intelligence.
'I'll have to reinstate Esther temporarily.'
If Esther returned to the Corps for a short time, their intel capability would quickly return to its former glory.
"You're leaving?"
"Yes."
"Hmph, at least you're not groveling. Good. Farewell, Carl Marcus. Let's meet again with good news."
"That's the hope."
As expected, there was no sudden change of heart from Victor.
He knew that if he gave in now, I'd just continue to use him.
'No need to regret this.'
I'd be running into Möbius and Victor again soon enough, for one reason or another.
I turned and walked away.
It was time to return to the Shadow Order.
* * *
Back at the Shadow Order, I temporarily reinstated Esther to intelligence operations and settled in to wait.
It wasn't that I had no tasks—but at this stage, making a premature move was unwise.
How much time passed, I wasn't sure.
Eventually, Esther and Sophia returned to the hideout with sluggish steps.
"No movements?"
"Yeah. We investigated, but there's been nothing significant."
That was strange.
At this point, I had expected the Rose Cross Knight Order to show some activity, but contrary to expectations, they did nothing.
And if even the Shadow Order with Esther leading the search couldn't find anything—it meant they really weren't doing anything.
'What is this?'
It couldn't be a sloppy investigation.
Even if Möbius wasn't cooperating and left us lacking intel, with Esther involved, the Shadow Order' information network was unmatched.
Which meant—the Rose Cross Knight Order truly had made no moves at all.
'Should I look into it?'
Strictly speaking, this was a good thing for me—but the fact that things were deviating from expectations made it impossible to feel relieved.
In fact, it only added an unwelcome sense of unease.
["What's wrong?"]
"…Nothing."
Something had changed.
And whether that change was good or bad—I had no way of knowing.
* * *
A majestic throne made of bone.
In a place seemingly dyed entirely in white bone, Agnes, Vice Commander of the Rose Cross Knight Order, appeared.
"Your Majesty."
At her summons, the one seated on the throne looked out upon the world with arrogant detachment, offering no reply.
Yet Agnes continued speaking without hesitation.
"The time has come."
She didn't specify what time it was.
There was no need—her King already understood.
It was time to fulfill the long-awaited wish the King had harbored.
"The time…"
The King's gaze turned to Agnes.
Eyes devoid of emotion.
In the face of those overwhelming, arrogant eyes—eyes that seemed to look down upon the entire world—Agnes shuddered briefly.
"Ahh…"
But the ecstasy was brief.
For the King, who had done nothing but oversee the world, slowly began to rise from the throne.
The Turncoat King.
The first of the human race to betray their kind, and ruler of the Skull Turncoats.
At last, the one who had remained silent for so long turned his gaze toward Agnes—or rather, the Turncoat Queen.
"Are we ready?"
The question was short.
But the Turncoat Queen already had her answer.
"It will be sufficient."