Raven climbed the stays to the deck and hurried to the ship's armor. When he arrived, the deputy commander's assistant and the platoon leaders were already gathered.
"Subcommander Raven! You're back! What's relief! Currently, we were forming a unit to support you since you were taking so long to return..."
"I have to write a report. Please, everyone leave."
"...Pardon? Oh, yes, ma'am!" The assembled leaders followed Raven's urgent order. The room emptied in a matter of seconds.
Raven placed her hand on the military-grade message stone inside the cockpit, a worried look on her face. "Nia Rafdonia. This is Arua Raven, deputy commander of the Third Magic Corps. I was delayed in securing a retreat route for the troops and have just returned. Please brief me on the current situation."
"Nia Rafdonia. This is Eltora Tercerion, Chief of Staff of the Third Corps. I was worried when I heard you went to understand the Blood Knight, but I'm glad you returned safe and sound."
"...Please excuse me, but how is it that the chief of staff is on the other end of this transmission instead of the commander?"
"Because in times of war, I am second in command and I assume command in the absence of the highest commanding authority."
"Absence... Sir?"
"Count Ramleonde died in battle. After giving the order to assemble all units, he was ambushed by a group of criminals led by the traitor Richard Lüchenprague while on the move."
"That can't be..."
"The ambush ended once all troops withdrew to the lake, but as we cannot be certain of what may happen next, I want you to order your unit to remain in the area and be on guard until further instructions are given."
Following this, they clearly and concisely shared the information they knew about the coincidences and damage, and the enemies who had carried out this attack.
"I believe I've conveyed everything you needed to know. Now it's your turn. Was he truly a Blood Knight?"
In response to his superior's question, Raven summarized everything that had happened in a brief report: how he had stayed behind to hold off Blood Knight, how enemy reinforcements had joined the fight, how Lighthouse Guardian had been killed in battle, and how he had used Multi-Teleportation to retreat. The events were collected concisely in a few sentences, omitting everything else. However, this wasn't simply to save time. If it had been, he wouldn't have had to end his report so clumsily.
«The Lighthouse Keeper was killed, huh? It's good news. Well done. Be sure to inform Blood Spirit of the reward he will receive for his achievements in battle».
His superiors believed that this achievement was thanks to the contributions of Blood Spirit, but the reality was completely different. The reason why no one had been harmed by the infamous Blood Knight was thanks to that man, Riehen Schuitz, and he had also been tasked with killing the Lighthouse Keeper in the end.
«Then I'll end the broadcast here».
Raven found herself unable to convey that, even as the conversation came to an end. No, that wasn't all.
Amelia Rainwales.
Nor had he mentioned the woman who had played such an active role as Blood Spirit in the battle, although it was obvious to her that this was the same Noark woman she had met on Farune Island. Raven intentionally withheld information. He may not have lied, but it was undeniable that he had abandoned his duties as a soldier.
Sigh...
As someone who had always obediently fulfilled his role, Raven felt deep remorse. But what could I do? First he needed time to put his thoughts in order.
Riehen Schuitz...
Until now, he had assumed that the man who introduced himself by that name was someone Erwen was simply dragging along because of his resemblance to a certain person. Once he saw Gigantization, he waited against all hope. If it wasn't just like that - if that was the reason Erwen called him Mister - that meant that certain someone was really alive.
«...I don't know.»
She felt overwhelmed. It was hard to be sure of anything. Although he really looked like him, he kept wondering if he was just someone with a great resemblance. There were also many clear differences, such as his height and face.
«You... cccc-corva...!»
When he touched his reflex wound, his blood was hot and sticky to the touch. If it had been that man, his blood would have stung. Besides, there was another difference.
...He is too strong.
He had a body that could block the Blood Knight's aura, a unique ability that reflected magic and also the ability to attract enemies using the wind. The Yandel she knew could not have displayed such power against such strong opponents.
But time had passed.
It was possible that he had become stronger by taking on new essences. Even Erwen, who was a member of the Mighty Seven, had changed a lot in the past two years.
In that case...
The more she organized the numerous reports she had been bombarded with in such a short time, the more Raven leaned toward the idea that Bjorn Yandel was alive. The decisive factor was Amelia's presence. Although in the end he had not been able to discover anything, it was true that there had been uncertainty surrounding his death. If the person who had disappeared with him was alive, that meant he could be alive too.
If it's really Mr. Yandel, what do I do?
Bjorn Yandel was an evil spirit. The palace had already officially announced it, and she knew it was so even before the announcement. That was because she had seen Missha's expression that day.
«You said there are going to be rumors that Mr. Yandel is an evil spirit... but it won't just be a rumor, right?».
Missha, who had the longest and deepest relationship with Yandel, did not answer him, but her hesitant eyes locked away the truth.
Snap, click.
Raven bit her nails for the first time in a long time. It was a habit that only emerged when she felt cornered. Unlike what was usual for her, she could not see the situation objectively. Although he hoped the man was Yandel, he also wished he wasn't.
«Well, what can I do? I have to check it».
Soon, Raven made up her mind. I knew that no matter how scared I was, I couldn't put off and run away from something that needed to be done.
***
No. 399: The Cage of Silence was a trap-type numeric item that activated when a transport-type ability was used within a given radius.
«That woman is not going to leave us here forever, is she?»
«She will come. And probably soon».
«How can you be so sure?»
«Because this cage won't last forever.»
To be more precise, its effects lasted two hours from activation, and the time it took to recharge was extremely long.
Plus, he can't hit us while we're locked up.
This was the greatest weakness of the Cage of Silence. It was an exclusively object of containment. Once activated, all attacks from the outside were obstructed. Therefore, most people are usually used in conjunction with a siege formation, in groups over the target once the cage is gone.
Faucet.
As soon as footsteps echoed down the hallway, the soldier in charge of watching us waved in that direction. «Nia Rafdonia!»
So you are here.
«Thanks for watching them. I have something to discuss with them. Could you leave us the room? Oh, and please keep everything that's happened here a secret.»
«Yes ma'am!»
Raven returned after an hour, alone. He even fired the soldier and got rid of any possible snoops. It was a good sign, but it was still too early to relax. Raven stood in front of the steel bars and looked at us silently for a while. I was the first to break the silence.
«...What are you going to do with us?».
«Are you still going to use that tone on me?».
Hitting off, huh? Would it be better to reveal my identity and ask him to help us?
While I was debating this, Raven continued. «Your helmet. Take it off».
Anyway, I had already shown him my face once, so I obediently took off my helmet stained with the Lighthouse Keeper's blood.
Surprisingly, Raven's expression did not change. «And the armor you wear too».
Who do you think I am? They say children shouldn't even sit next to each other after age seven.
«I cannot give in to inappropriate sexual demands. If I were a woman, would you ask for such...?»
«What are you talking about?» I tried to explain logically why I couldn't take off my armor, but Raven just stared at me, stone-faced. It scared me a little. «I haven't included anything about you in my reports yet. Not even about Miss Rainwales who is next to you. But if you don't do what I tell you, that will change».
«I will remove it.»
«Your tone... is higher now.»
It wasn't like I had a way out of this now. Instead of wasting saliva answering, I took off my armor, which was shattered from behind.
Then, for the first time, there was a change in Raven's expression. Something fluttered behind his eyes as they noticed the tattoo hidden under my armor.
Ugh, it's actually a relief that it came out like this.
«It's been a while, Raven. What, didn't you already suspect it?».
Raven bit her lip and glared at me. «Still... I hoped I was wrong».
«Because I am an evil spirit?».
«Yeah. It would have been better not to ruin your memory...». Raven interrupted herself bitterly. My heart tightened.
So you can't accept that I am an evil spirit.
«Wait! Raven, that's a misunderstanding». I quickly set out to try to convince her.
«Misunderstanding?»
«Yes, I am not an evil spirit».
«So why are you in that state?». Staring at me, Raven made fists. «It seems that you shrank your stature with an essence like Miss Ainar's Bone Knight... If you are not an evil spirit, why do you have to hide your identity?».
Yeah, I knew you'd ask that.
«When I returned, the palace had already made that announcement. When I investigated it, it seemed suspicious. That's why I hide my identity for the moment».
«...I admit there were a lot of suspicious things in that ad. But 'for the moment'? And 'returned'? What does that mean?»
Okay, I think I've managed to pique your curiosity.
«It's a long story. There's something called the Stone Fragment of Records-»
«Wait!» Just as I was about to explain what happened to me, Raven jumped up and interrupted me. «You don't need to explain it in detail. This will be enough». With that, a familiar object appeared in Raven's hand. It was number 7234: Wrong Trust, an object that prohibited all lies within a ten meter radius when activated. «You should know what this is, Mr. Yandel. It's an item I received from Mr. Partean in the Doppelganger Forest a long time ago. A while ago, the military had some budget left over, so I made sure to top it up with a few uses.»
Wow, how prepared.
Whooom!
He pressed the power button and the compass-sized disk began to move. Then Raven stared at me as she asked, «Okay, tell me now. Is it really a misunderstanding?».
...It should work, right?
Even as I thought this to myself, I was quite nervous. I hadn't actually checked whether Auril Gavis's gift worked properly or not. My plan had actually been to buy Misguided Confidence or a similar item to confirm it before taking the stand to defend myself before the palace.
"Raven, it's really a misunderstanding. I'm not an evil spirit."
Well, since I can speak, I guess the gift is really working...
Click.
Just then, the clock hand that had been smoothly rotating around the disc stopped.
"What did you just do?"
"Um..." When I stopped, the hand started moving again. Was it a momentary glitch? "I'm not sure..." I quickly doubled down on the "I don't know" approach, and the Misguided Confidence hand clicked to a stop again.
Tick, knock.
A moment later, it summarized.
"Why does Confidence stop abruptly every time he speaks, Mr. Yandel?"
I swallowed.
He said these things wouldn't affect me in the future... That damn old man. He should have told me it was going to be like this!