Two clanging swords played a fierce tune.

　The magic lights embedded in the ceiling shone brightly, dispelling the darkness of the night. In the spacious dojo of the earthen floor, two men were cutting each other.
　On the one hand, a man whose missing arm had been replaced by an artifact that looked like a metal skeleton. In addition to his black hair, which should have been groomed but looks stubborn, he now has a genuine stubble. The Second Knight Commander, Bertil Lagerbeck.
　Bertil is already nearly forty years old, but his opponent, with whom he would face and slay on even terms, is well into his old age. He was a skinhead who had shaved his nearly bald head. Steam rises from his naked upper body, which is composed of rock-like muscles.

　The slash-and-burn battle that goes on forever, like a battle of checks and balances, eventually ends abruptly.
　It was a slight flicker that only the fighters themselves would notice.
　Bertil is knocked out of his stance. The old man steps in. Bertil chooses to fight back rather than regroup. A silver lining. And then...

　And then, with a clear, crisp sound, the fights were joined.
　The sword flew from Bertil's hand, spinning and sliding across the ground, stopping at the feet of Kaja, who was watching the battle from the wall.

　The old man smiled lowly at Bertil, who had lost his sword.

The old man chuckled lowly at Bertil's loss of his sword, "Well, you've done it with only one arm.
You're the one who's wasted, aren't you?
"Pull it out!　I'm determined to wield a sword until the day I die. I'm determined to wield it until the day I die. I can't afford to be weak!

　The old man laughed gaily as he wiped his body with a hand towel.

　This old man was Alfio Jairus Areotti, the previous leader of the Second Order.
　He was the eldest son of the Marquis of Arreotti, a court noble, unlike Lawrence and Bertil, who came from commoner backgrounds, but he was an insufferable swordsman and an eccentric who, relying only on his own skills, joined the royal knights and let his younger brother take over the family, and after retiring, opened a swordsmanship dojo in the city of Teiracaines.

　As soon as they met again, they talked with swords and sat side by side on a bench by the wall.

"Sensei!　...... for tea.
Put it there.

　One of Alfio's apprentices brought the tea and placed it between them with a look of great reluctance.

　It's a good idea to take a look at the history of knighthood. It's just a family of knights.
　I'm sure you've heard of it. If you are a knight, you should be able to take care of other knights and eventually become a full-fledged knight.
　In such a case, a place to learn the culture of knighthood, even if it was only a little bit of a refresher, was the sword fighting dojo opened by retired knights in Ciel-Teira.

"Thank you, please step back.
Yes!

　The uchi-apprentice was a clean-cut boy, just under the age of majority.
　He seemed to be nervous, but he replied cheerfully and backed away. It seemed that he had been chosen to join the Royal Court Knights. Because of this, he seemed to have been stiffened in front of the current Knight Commander (Bertil) and the former Knight Commander (Alfio), both of whom he admired.

The girl has nowhere else to go?
I think so. ...... You've got to fight harder than that!
That's absurd.

　After drinking the tea, which tasted almost bitter, Bertil frowned.
　It's a good idea to have a good idea of what you're doing and how you're doing it.

"I heard about yesterday's incident. I heard that a knight was killed.

　Alfio began to probe.
　The city of Teiracaines was now abuzz with rumors of last night's incident.

Yes, ......, six of the knights gathered in the castle were attacked at the inn where they were staying.
　All six knights were murdered, and the body of one of them was so mutilated that it could not be identified.

　Despite his words, Bertil had a strange feeling.
　There is no doubt that this attack was carried out by Rene. But if so, what for?
　Surely they were knights in the service of the Marquis of Edfelt, who had participated in the coup. It's not surprising that they were targeted by Rene. ......

I'm not sure if it's a 'yes' or a 'no'.
I don't know much more than the rumors circulating around town.
What, you're being used as a decoration?

　In the event that you have any questions concerning where and the best way to get in touch with us, please do not hesitate to contact us.

What do you think of His Highness Prince Ghislain?
"Oh, His Highness Gislain. Marks, the other day you tried to drag me out to see if I could help you persuade His Highness.
　There's a rumor going around that you're going to be crown prince. Marks must have started the rumor on purpose.
　Hmm. If His Highness were to rise of his own volition, I'd have nothing to say. ...... I don't like it.

　As if to show his annoyance, Alfio sat down and took a swing with his sword.
　A thin crack appeared in the ground of the dojo from the pressure of the sword.

　I'm not sure if you've heard of it, but I'm sure you've heard of it.
　He's a great man with a chivalrous philosophy who respects what is reasonable. However, because of this, he has given up on the idea that he would be able to do anything if he got involved in politics, and has kept his distance from politics, striving only with his sword.

　It was precisely because of this that Bertil wondered if there was any way to embrace Alfio.

"Sir. Would you mind listening to my thoughts for a moment? I've been thinking about the best way to proceed.
Tell me .......



　Bertil shared his thoughts with Alfio.
　To bring together the anti-coup faction and the lords with close ties to the Federation and to appease the middle faction.
　To have a different crown prince than Zithlan.
　And to become a dependency of the Federation.

　While he was listening, Alfio cast a blade-sharp gaze at Bertil.

In other words, I want to be the backer of the 'other crown prince'. If I do say so myself, I'm only popular with the people, you know.
"Hmm. ......

　After Bertil finished speaking, Alfio drank the rest of the tea.
　He had put in too much honey, and the remaining honey was pooling at the bottom of the cup.

Will it really work?
I don't know if it will. I don't know if it'll work, but it has a chance. First of all, Noachurio's army will soon be in retreat.

　Alfio's eyes widened at Bertil's confident words.

"...... What?

　I'm not sure if you've heard of it, but I've heard of it.

Why?
I'm sure you're aware of that.
"...... You don't mean the Rose Princess of Hell?"

　It's a great way to make sure you're getting the most out of your money.
　I'm not sure what to say.

　"Everyone already knows the story of how the Rose Princess of Hell captured the capital. Even a child can tell that she has that much power.
　But... The fact that the "Rose of Hell" is trying to cut off logistics to drive back the Noa Curio army is news that brings even more despair.
　It's not just a bunch of dangerous demons. It's a ...... army.

The current Noachurian army is fragile underfoot. They probably won't be able to hold their ground here.
　If I were the Rose Princess of Hell, I would attack Teiracaines as soon as the Noachurian army retreated. If possible, I would aim to kill the Marquis and His Highness, but even if not, the Marquis of Edfelt would be naked as soon as Teiracaine-is declared a surrender. Even if he didn't, the Marquis of Edfelt would be completely naked when Teiracaines was attacked. He would lose the power to push His Highness.
　In the event that you've got a lot more than one of these, you're going to be able to get a lot more than one of these. It is conceivable that the princes who once sided with the Marquis of Edfelt may begin to take an opportunistic stance.

　--And René-chan will let the Gilesh Hathar army off the hook, but if the Noachurian army comes back, he won't spare them.

　Bertil added in his mind.

It's a dicey situation to bet against His Highness. But I can't just sit around and wait to die. Therefore, I am going to push the lords who still have ties to the Federation.
"Hmm. ......
But even if I try to contact the princes for that purpose, all communications on the communications station will be known to the Marquis of Edfelt. It's not natural for me to leave this city, so it's difficult to contact them from elsewhere. So I would like to ask you to somehow contact him from elsewhere on my behalf. I'm sure the Marquis Berger will listen to me.
Wait.

　I'm sure the Marquis of Berger will listen to me.

Why don't you come in?

　A young girl with blue hair and eyes appeared without a sound of footsteps. It was hard to say what it was about her, but she had a Federal look about her.
　Bertil got the impression from her that she was like a block of iron. Cold, without the heat of life. This kind of atmosphere is familiar to me.

"......, is she from Giresh Khattar?
"Yes, she is the daughter of an old friend. There's nothing to hide now, is there?
You're a very bad person for letting me eavesdrop. You've been in a relationship with a federal agent for two generations, haven't you?

　When Bertil revealed his hand, Alfio responded by revealing his hand as well.
　It's a good thing that you're not the only one who can't see the truth. Half of you are surprised, and half of you are thinking, "Well, that could happen.

　It doesn't matter if you're dealing with a friendly country (or a vassal state?). Even if you are dealing with a friendly (vassal?) country, you still need spies.
　To make a submissive more submissive. To squeeze more out of a dupe. And to monitor the country for any change in policy. It is important to understand the situation of the country and to conduct espionage against people.
　Although, thanks to the coup, the country has become almost hostile to the Federation.

I'll call you Shelly. I'll call you Shelly, since we can't have a conversation without a name.

　She said her name in an inarticulate voice.

　She had infiltrated Ciel-Teira in order to find out what was going on there, and she had probably relied on Alfio to help her.

"Mr. Bertil Lagerbeck, Second Knight Commander of the Royal Court of Ciel-Teira. If I may, I would like to have a moment of your time.
"This is quick. Then let's talk about the future of this country.

　We'll talk about the future of this country.

　After leaving the dojo, Bertil and Kaja walked back to the inn through the restless night streets.
　Kaya seemed to be pondering something with a difficult look on her face.

"What's wrong, Kaya?
"Commander. Are you up to something nefarious?


I think the current situation in this country is already bad.

　Kaya raised her eyebrows blatantly when Bertil said in a dismissive tone.

I think you're still hiding something.
You think I'm not hiding something?
"It's .......

　Kaja was mortified.
　He effectively affirmed Kaya's concern that he might be playing some secretive tricks to solve the situation.
　Well, I don't think he's making a deal with the Rose Princess of Hell herself.

Haha, let's save as many people as possible. Let's protect this country. We're in a desperate situation, but if I give up, we won't be able to save what we can.
　And for that, I'm counting on you.
"Commander ......

　Kaya followed Bertil while he replied in a dumbfounded tone.