─Srrk. Thud.
On the opposite side of the painting, Hamel took a cautious step and a quiet corridor revealed itself. There was no one around; paintings and decorations lined the walls. Even so, a bleak, chilly atmosphere clung to the place.
‘…….’
Hamel slowly looked around, debating where to go, but only for a moment.
─Clomp clomp
Footsteps echoed from the far end of the corridor where no light reached. Too late to avoid them…
Ono, who had just stepped out of the painting, was coming toward them. Lena still hadn’t entered. Hamel made eye contact with Daniel; the two of them grabbed their swords at the same instant.
“What business do you have here at this hour?”
A familiar voice called out. It was—
“The sun hasn’t risen yet, has it?”
The captain of the guard. It was him.
What could be going on? Was the knight in the painting really the captain of the guard? Hamel felt confused, but he wasn’t given time to think it through. The captain tilted his head, approached, and demanded, “Sir, didn’t I tell you that you cannot enter the castle today?”
“……”
“Please explain your reasons clearly.”
The captain’s expression had gone cold and hard—hard to believe it was the same man from earlier at mealtime. Under that icy gaze, Hamel clenched his teeth. Was there no choice but to fight? After a brief hesitation, he forced himself to speak.
“Captain, do you know why Chepesh seeks to gain power by offering sacrifices?”
“…That is…”
The captain frowned and sighed before answering. “It’s difficult to explain… Rather, don’t change the subject and answer me.”
‘He knows.’
From here it was a gamble. If Hamel could make this work, it might let them get through; if not…
Hamel stopped thinking and said plainly, “I know.”
“…?”
“Isn’t it to obtain the dragon’s power?”
“…!”
Surprise crossed the captain’s face. It worked. Hamel tightened his fist out of sight. He didn’t actually know for certain—he only remembered something Chepesh had once said and made an educated guess: ‘You will be useful. Perhaps I can complete it at once.’ Connecting the half-dragon in the eastern mountains with himself left no other explanation.
Hamel continued, “That’s why Chepesh summoned me here. This power, I mean.” He rolled up his sleeve and raised his arm. Blue scales crept up his forearm when he drew up the dragon’s power.
“No way, a dragon’s…?” the captain murmured, then muttered to himself with a suddenly serious expression. “So the one who will be restored by tonight’s sacrifice is not Chepesh… but you.”
“…?”
What was that supposed to mean? The captain had leapt to a wild conclusion—perhaps people trying to hide something were more easily deceived by secrets they didn’t know. He seemed to stitch the facts together himself. Hamel was simply grateful for the captain’s imagination, which misread things for him.
“…I’m sorry. I misunderstood you, sir.”
“It’s only natural, you’re the captain of the guard after all.”
“No. But if that’s the case, you could have said so earlier. Anyway, I’ll take you to Chepesh.”
“Please do.”
The captain hurriedly led the way. The party shot uneasy glances at Hamel but had no choice; they couldn’t go against the flow now. Hamel followed, nagged by an inexplicable unease. After all, this raid had to be swift and decisive. They walked on behind the captain.
─Sob… ugh.
Sobbing echoed from somewhere.
“…What’s this?”
When Hamel asked, the captain ahead shook his head. “It’s nothing. Ignore it.”
“……”
But the sound grew louder—─Sob… hic.—it was getting closer. Before long, Hamel found the door where the cries came from. Unlike the other firmly closed doors in the corridor, this one was half-open. The captain passed by without even glancing at it, but Hamel couldn’t.
He felt like he knew that cry.
“Huuugh.”
Dozens of people were packed tightly inside the room. Hamel realized at once they were the missing people from nearby domains. He couldn’t save them now; top priority was bringing down Chepesh. Just as Hamel reluctantly turned to leave—the sobbing inside stopped abruptly.
Then—
─Whoosh
Heads turned. The people in the room twisted their heads toward Hamel in grotesque unison. Their eye-whites were entirely blackened and their mouths stretched into wide grins.
─Flinch
Something was wrong. Hamel flinched and tried to step back.
─Thud
A door slammed open roughly, and then other room doors began to open one after another.
─Thud thud thud thud thud
Hundreds of humans stood behind those doors like stiff mannequins. The brands stamped around their necks caught his eye—the mark of a sacrifice, identical to Marvas’s mark seen earlier in Rengbaster. Citizens who’d vanished from nearby villages had all been turned into offerings for a ritual.
Hamel’s expression hardened.
─Whoosh
Candelabras along the corridor flared to life, brightening the surroundings. A voice rang out.
“Visiting without the owner’s permission. Minus 10 points.”
“……”
“Peeking into a room secretly. Minus 6 points. Not shaking the dirt off your shoes. Minus 4 points.”
Footsteps drew nearer as the speaker revealed himself.
“A human pretending to be a demon. Minus 50 points.”
A wolf gentleman in a tuxedo. “All of you are sentenced to death.”
It was the appearance of the ‘Etiquette Officer’.
Fortunately, the hostages who’d been turned into sacrifices showed no hostile reaction; they simply clapped and laughed at Hamel’s party like drugged spectators.
“……”
Hamel, disgusted, drew his sword. The Etiquette Officer showed no intention of backing down.
Then—
─Thud
Daniel tapped Hamel’s shoulder and stepped forward. “Leave it to me.”
Before Hamel could reply, Daniel rushed at the Etiquette Officer in a blur. His strength had grown through recent incidents; most demons would die before they knew what hit them.
But a low voice carried down the corridor: “Running in the corridor. Minus 5 points.”
─Flinch
Daniel’s momentum wavered. The Etiquette Officer swung his sharp claws and struck Daniel.
─Clang!
A metallic sound rang out as Daniel was shoved back. The Etiquette Officer continued in the same stiff tone. “Carrying unauthorized weapons inside the castle. Minus 10 points.”
Daniel trembled, his fingertips twitching.
“…What’s this?” he whispered as he clenched and unclenched his hand.
The Etiquette Officer watched with a grim smile. “It’s already 85 points.”
“85 points?”
Was Daniel’s strange reaction related to that score? Hamel tilted his head and listened.
“Stop! What are you doing? Etiquette Officer!”
The captain of the guard suddenly rushed forward to block the Etiquette Officer and shouted. The wolf-faced officer scowled and shouted back, “Shut up, traitor scum!”
“They’re not traitors. Those people are…”
The captain couldn’t finish; Hamel had tugged at his collar from behind, and at the same moment the Etiquette Officer’s large forepaw descended. The captain narrowly avoided the blow, his face frozen.
“It seems reason won’t work.”
“……”
“Will you help us?”
At Hamel’s words the captain hesitated, then spoke as if torn. “Could you possibly just subdue the Etiquette Officer?”
“If possible.”
When Hamel agreed, the captain’s expression eased. “The penalties the Etiquette Officer mentions are his innate ability. As points accumulate, the opponent weakens. Beyond 50 points they can use only about half their usual strength, and at 100 points…”
“It’s over, then.”
“Yes.”
As the captain nodded, the Etiquette Officer snarled, “Grr, traitor scum. You don’t even bother hiding it now. But it’s already useless.”
Listening to them, the Etiquette Officer laughed savagely. “Those guys have already exceeded 50 points. No matter how humans thrash about, it’s meaningless.”
Hamel listened quietly.
The captain spoke with a conflicted look. “If it’s difficult, I could help…”
“No. It’s fine.”
“…?”
“Because the contest is already decided.”
The captain looked puzzled. The Etiquette Officer scowled, “Where’s this pathetic bravado coming from…?”
But he didn’t finish that sentence.
─Tap tap
Daniel, who had been fidgeting quietly, somehow thrust his sword beneath the Etiquette Officer’s chin. ‘How?’ The opponent must have been weakened—likely less than half his usual strength—so how could he be faster than before?
Swallowing his confusion, the Etiquette Officer swung his forepaw, expecting to repel the attack. He figured that if he could block this strike, the knight’s negative points would hit 100. He curled his lip and met the blade.
─Screech
“…What?” the Etiquette Officer blurted as he stared at his shoulder. His forepaw was gone, severed, spinning through the air.
He blinked at the impossible. ─Whoosh—Daniel moved like a snake along a wall, slipping smoothly behind the Etiquette Officer and driving the blade into his neck. With a dull impact the Etiquette Officer’s knees buckled.
─Thud
His pupils trembled violently. In the last of that gaze he saw Hamel, who had seemed composed the whole time. That man must have known this would happen from the start.
“What… what trick did you use?” the Etiquette Officer ground his teeth.
Hamel answered quietly, “You don’t know? Sir Daniel did not use any trickery.”
“Lies. He can’t be that fast and strong even while weakened…”
The Etiquette Officer trailed off. There was one possibility—one terrifying answer—and the thought made him flinch.
Hamel, watching the shaken officer, stated what the other did not want to hear. “Sir Daniel is strong. Even at less than half his usual strength, he can bring you down.”
The Etiquette Officer went dumb and shut his mouth.
Hamel spoke tersely, “If you remain restrained, I will not harm you. Captain, please bind him.”
“Yes.”
The captain stepped forward with the rope Hamel handed him. ─Gnash—gritting his teeth, the Etiquette Officer spat, “Ambushing an enemy during conversation. Minus…”
But Daniel’s sword was a fraction faster than his words.
─Slash
The Etiquette Officer’s head dropped and rolled across the floor.
