“Where’s your guard captain?”
“I, I don’t know!! I really don’t!!”
I pulled out the sentry who was hiding deep in the alley and spoke. He had already lost all his fighting spirit and was just shaking.
‘This is bad.’
Though I had wiped out the gabial bastards all at once, I ended up losing the important golden goblin.
“If you don’t answer properly, I’ll make you eat that water cannon from earlier.”
“Y-yes!! I understand, officer!! I’ll tell you everything I know!”
“Where’s the direct route to the guardhouse from here?”
“Go straight ahead, then turn right, and the building will be right there! It’s tall, so you’ll be able to see it right away!”
I let go of the sentry’s collar and immediately ran towards the barracks.
That little rat Ramur must have noticed for sure that I came from the military police side. That’s why, as soon as I sprayed him with the water cannon, he didn’t even think about fighting back and fled.
However, ultimately, the actions Ramur can take now are extremely limited.
Either abandon everything—money and all—and run off, or gather what he can and escape the city.
I thought it would be the latter.
‘After eating so much, he wouldn’t flee without any preparation. He must be at the barracks.’
From now on, it’s purely a race against time.
Even if we have overwhelming evidence, if we don’t secure Ramur, there will be no way to confirm the higher-ups who conspired to leak the ‘Artifact.’
Surely, there must be someone far above the mere district guard captain who ordered the theft of the Artifact.
This is a 100% chance to succeed in the mission; I can’t afford to miss it.
After racing through the streets under the setting sun, I arrived at the barracks.
But there was only an eerie silence.
Quickly looking around, I could see traces of a horse having been set free in the corner where the stable stood.
“d*mn it!”
Just one horse. It was clear that Ramur had taken it.
But it’s too early to give up.
I approached the stable and untied the remaining horse. Its healthy snorting felt good.
“Even though it’s my first time riding… somehow it’ll work out!!”
After checking the saddle’s fixation, I leaped onto its back. Strangely, I seemed to instinctively grasp how to guide the horse.
Well, since I graduated from the military academy, I must have ridden horses decently, right?
Is this some kind of possession bonus?
For a moment, I marveled, but as I firmly placed my foot in the stirrup and struck the reins,
Hi-ing!
The horse reared up on its front legs before galloping forward.
‘The closest exit from the barracks is the rear gate! Let’s head there!’
Unless Ramur took a wrong turn, he must have already left the city. However, if I ride fast enough, I should be able to catch up.
In less than a few minutes, the rear gate came into view.
“Hmm…? What is this?”
The troops stationed in front of the tightly closed city gate initially seemed like sentries blocking the way at Ramur’s bidding.
But unlike the crude sentries, they were neatly dressed in elegant uniforms.
A pitch-black coat adorned with golden buttons, and a large reindeer emblem clearly imprinted on their chest.
It was the National Military Police.
“Halt, halt!”
I stopped the horse upon the Military Police’s command and jumped down.
“The city has been temporarily closed by the National Military Police. Show your ID and return!”
Since I was in civilian clothes and knew no one in the Military Police except Colonel Lannister,
it was natural that the National Military Police personnel did not recognize me.
“To glory of the homeland! Lieutenant Enok Revendale of the Northern Corps Direct Command 3rd Magic Battalion!”
As I approached the man who looked like a major and saluted, he returned the salute.
“3rd Magic Battalion…? Why are you here?”
“I was carrying out a mission under the orders of Colonel Lannister.”
When I showed the Military Police insignia from my pocket, the major’s gaze changed.
“Ah, you’re the famous platoon leader I’ve heard about. We’ll talk about your achievements after capturing the guard captain and other relevant individuals.”
“Understood. By the way, has anyone on horseback come this way?”
“No one but you has come through the rear gate.”
What’s going on? If it wasn’t Ramur, who led the horse away?
‘Could he have escaped before the Military Police arrived?’
Given this reasonable suspicion, I asked the major again.
“How long ago did you seal off the rear gate?”
“As soon as I received the order from Colonel Lannister, I arrived. It’s 7:00 PM now, so it’s been about ten minutes.”
According to the major’s words, the timing was somewhat tight.
Wasn’t it when I was cleaning up the Gabial gang and heading towards the barracks? If he fled with minimal luggage, he could have easily escaped before the Military Police sealed off the entrance.
After pondering for a moment, I eventually confessed everything to the major.
“It seems the guard captain, Ramur, has fled the city.”
“What?”
“After dealing with the thugs hired by that b*stard, I immediately pursued him… but I found out that one horse was missing at the guard barracks.”
“d*mn it…! This isn’t the time for that! We must form a pursuit team immediately…”
Just as the major was about to issue orders to the cavalry waiting near the entrance,
“There’s no need.”
A familiar voice echoed from a nearby alley.
“Ramur is here.”
A giant figure collapsed helplessly in front of them. I immediately recognized him as Guard Captain Ramur.
And also those who brought Ramur.
“…Sergeant Bella, Sergeant Claude.”
“We owe you one, platoon leader.”
Claude chuckled as he spoke.
*
“So that’s how it happened. Ah, thank you.”
I drank cold water while speaking. The pure water was created by Bella’s magic.
Here’s the whole story.
While I was confronting the sentry, Lumina successfully escaped the city and reported to Battalion Commander Lockhart that I was in danger and that there was clear evidence that the Chernov City guard captain had committed treason.
He may be a bit moody and temperamental, but he acts decisively when needed.
Upon receiving Lumina’s message, he immediately sent an urgent letter to Colonel Lannister and approved Lumina’s request for a quick response, bringing Bella Meyer and Claude to the city.
Thanks to Bella Meyer and Claude arriving earlier, they were able to guard the side gate and apprehend Ramur just as he was trying to escape. It was truly fortunate.
If Ramur had succeeded in escaping through the side gate, it would have been impossible to track him.
“He probably knew the city’s secret passages because he was the guard captain.”
“But how did you, Sergeant Claude, know about that passage?”
At my sudden question, Sergeant Claude evasively avoided eye contact. Bella Meyer sighed deeply and answered instead.
“Well… it’s obvious, isn’t it? There are numerous instances where he’s returned much later than expected. Since the main and rear gates are automatically locked after midnight, he must have wandered around using this side gate. Look at him, shamelessly pretending he doesn’t.”
Bella Meyer’s words left Claude unresponsive.
“Did you do this even after I took over?”
“…”
“Um…”
“Sergeant Claude, please let us know next time. So we can at least inform each other in emergencies, right? Going out is fine, but…”
“Going out is fine? Platoon Leader!”
Although Bella immediately protested, I had already given up on Claude’s reform.
After all, with the title of war hero and the rank of master sergeant, he’s practically equivalent to a general who gave up on promotion.
Field artillery?
Don’t speak if you haven’t experienced it.
No one can stop him, really?
Rather, it’s surprising to me that Bella keeps nagging like this.
“Alright, I’ll at least report minimally from now on.”
“I appreciate the consideration.”
It seemed he accepted it well, thinking I had made many concessions.
At that moment, a woman in a robe waved her hand and hurriedly ran towards us.
“Platoon Leader!”
Her silver hair gleamed under the moonlight.
Sergeant Blue Lumia.
“Are you alright?”
“Yes, I’m not injured. Anyway, I subdued them all with magic.”
“So the people sprawled out in the square earlier were all…?”
Apparently, Lumina witnessed the aftermath on her way here. I shrugged at her surprised expression.
“They probably weren’t seriously hurt. At worst, some fractures?”
“Really…! You didn’t push yourself too hard, did you!”
“Well, who knows? I might catch a cold tomorrow doing this.”
Indeed, I used more magic than usual today and moved around quite a lot.
“If that happens, please count on me tomorrow, Sergeant Lumia.”
Tossing a light joke, Lumina frowned with an exasperated look.
“No way! If you keep acting like this every day, what will happen! From now on, we’ll exercise together! We need to build up your stamina!”
“That’s great, Platoon Leader? If you get hurt during exercise, come to me. I’ll provide free fatigue recovery.”
“Bell Sergeant, there are no exceptions. If you keep staying cooped up in your room, what will you do later!”
“Eek…”
Caught unexpectedly, Bell Meyer stepped back awkwardly.
Claude, on the other hand, watched the two with a strangely content expression.
…Looking at it this way, it’s not entirely bad, is it?
Anyway.
“Our platoon has resolved the issue.”
“Th-that’s right… It was solved faster than expected?”
I didn’t expect to capture the suspect within a day either… Looking at the platoon members who helped in various ways, I said,
“You’ve all worked very hard.”
