Record of Wortenia War: Volume 1

by Ryota Hori

  Saitou finished his words politely.

  “My cooperation?”

  “Yes. I’d like you to give me a bit of your time so I may confirm who you are. It’s just a formality, yes? We’ll confirm your background and you’ll be off on your way. Not much we can do, see? Given we don’t know what the person we’re looking for looks like... We have to round up all the well-built men going through the forest. Really, I do apologize.”

  And while his words were the height of polite apology and spoken with a gentle smile, there wasn’t so much as a hint of laughter to the eyes behind the silver rimmed lenses.

  “And if I were to refuse to cooperate?”

  “In that case, I’d be left with little choice.” Saitou raised his right arm at Ryoma’s words. “I would not like to do so, but I would need to have you accompany me by force.”

  An arrow was fired from the forest, piercing the air near Ryoma’s flank.

  “I see... So that’s how it is.” Ryoma muttered to himself, eying the arrow lodged into the ground.

  “Yes. Now that you understand, I’d like to ask for your cooperation one more time. Would you come with me, please?”

  Hypocritical courtesy at its finest. No one could say no in this situation when doing so would result in a hail of arrows from the forest.

  “If you insist, then. I’ll come along.” Ryoma answered with a reluctant expression.

  “Oh, I’m glad you understand. I’ll escort you to my camp. Not to worry, it’s close by.” Saitou said, and took a pair of shackles out of his sack.

  “What’s that?”

  “Just erring on the side of caution,” Saitou replied apologetically. “It’s all formalities, my friend; all formalities. I’ll take them off after you meet my commanding officer. Just be patient.”

  He left no room for argument. Left with no choice, Ryoma presented his hands without another word.

  “Your Highness, we’ve restrained him.”

  Hearing Saitou’s words as he walked into her tent, Shardina stopped in the middle of penning together a decree and turned to look at him.

  “Restrained? Restrained who...? The otherworlder?”

  “Yes, I think there’s no doubting he’s an otherworlder. To be exact, he is a Japanese from Earth.”

  After returning to the camp, Saitou left Ryoma in a tent and, after assigning some guards, went to report to Shardina. His expression was full of pride at completing his task, mixed with a hint of anxiety.

  “...How can you tell he’s the otherworlder? We don’t know what he looks like.”

  “He’s from the same country I came from.” Saitou met Shardina’s suspicious expression calmly. “And it hasn’t been long since he came to this world. I could tell by the smell.”

  Saitou’s answer made Shardina’s face break into a grin.

  “I see... I certainly wouldn’t dream of doubting your word. So, what are you going to do?”

  “His Grace’s orders were to arrest or kill him, but...” Saitou said hesitantly, and Shardina nodded.

  “Yes, the order was to kill him if we were unable to arrest him.”

  “So, now that we have him, we would have to take him to the capital...”

  Hearing Saitou’s words, Shardina peered at his face with surprise.

  “Is there a problem?” Shardina was sensitive to the changes in Saitou’s expression.

  “Yes... I’m of the opinion that we should forgo taking him back to the capital, and dispose of him here.” Saitou stated his thoughts after a hint of hesitation.

  He had just proposed going against the Emperor’s orders. The pressure he must have felt was likely beyond one’s imagination.

  And hearing his words made Shardina falter, too, because Saitou had always been supporting her from the shadows. His counsel had always been wise and apt, and had never been wrong before. Shardina couldn’t outright ignore him, but she couldn’t defy the Emperor’s explicit orders, either.

  “State your reasoning...”

  “My reasoning, you say...” Saitou considered her question gravely. “One could regard it as my intuition.”

  This time it was Shardina’s face that drooped into a frown. Although she placed great trust in the words of her aide, she couldn’t defy an imperial decree based on intuition alone.

  “Your intuition, is it... Even coming from you, I cannot act upon that itself.”

  “My apologies. But upon speaking to him, I could not shake the feeling that he is dangerous. He would smile while talking to me, but I could not tell what he was thinking in his heart of hearts. And then he accompanied me without any resistance. Even when I cuffed him, saying it was simply a formality, he did not resist very much. Almost as if he was confident that if we looked into him, he’d be released...”

  Hearing Saitou’s words made a shudder run through Shardina’s heart.

  That does sound concerning. Especially the fact he did not resist... Judging from how he slew Gaius and started a fire to escape the palace, he should be a cool-headed, merciless man. Even if he’s resigned himself to the fact that he can’t run away, I don’t see him simply surrendering himself quietly.

  “Are you sure he’s the otherworlder we’re after?”

  Shardina suggested they might have found the wrong person, but Saitou shook his head.

  “I have no doubt in my mind that he’s an otherworlder. The only question is whether he’s Sir Gaius’s killer, but judging by the situation, I’d assume a nine out of ten chance that he is. I think we can do away with the possibility that a completely unrelated otherworlder would be going through this forest by sheer coincidence.”

  Shardina nodded at Saitou’s assertion. There was no evidence, but based on the circumstances, there wasn’t much room for doubt.

  “Then, that leaves us with one option.”

  “And that is?”

  Shardina stood up from her chair and walked to the end of the tent.

  “Take me to him. Clearly there is no choice at this point but for me to speak to him directly, is there not?”

  Two visitors entered the tent allotted to Ryoma.

  “Apologies for making you wait. My superior officer requested to meet with you directly.”

  Shardina stepped forward from behind Saitou, facing Ryoma.

  “I see. So I’m meeting the captain.”

  As they listened to Ryoma speak, with him sat on a chair and directing a sharp gaze towards them, the two seemed surprised.

  “Oh, what made you think I’m the captain? I could be some other kind of superior officer.”

  “Well, I can’t say I knew for sure. But I heard Princess Shardina blockaded the checkpoint at Adelpho. And anyone who knows that same Princess Shardina is the captain of the Succubus Knights would come to that conclusion.”

  “Hmm, I see. Yes, I suppose one would likely come to that conclusion...”

  Saitou said, and while Shardina seemed convinced on the surface, her heart oddly stiffened. True, it wasn’t an unusual conclusion to come to, but would one truly think so clearly when they were bound and confined?

  I think I see why Saitou was ambivalent about him. I don’t have a good feeling about this...

  A sense of anxiety crept over Shardina’s heart. Saitou turned his gaze to her.

  What do you think? Saitou’s gaze seemed to ask.

  Shardina regarded him with a light nod and parted her lips to speak again.

  “Thank you for lending us your time. I extend my thanks to you, in the name of the Empire.”

  Those words were unbelievably polite, considering that royalty was addressing a citizen.

  “No, it’s nothing to stress over. It was definitely suspicious for me to go through the forest and not the highway.”

  Hearing Ryoma’s natural, casual response, the pair’s lips curled into smiles.

  “Just as we thought, Your Majesty.”

  “Yes. I’d say that cements it.”

  The two exchanged nods. This cleared up any doubts they
may have had.

  “We’ve finally found you, dear otherworlder!”

  “What’s this about an otherworlder?” Ryoma regarded Shardina’s words with composure.

  “Don’t try to deny it. No commoner in this world would react so calmly to a person of the Imperial house speaking to them politely.”

  Upon hearing Saitou say this, Ryoma’s expression changed for the first time. That... did make sense. In this world where monarchy reigned as law, royalty were like gods to the commoners. If Ryoma had any intention of pretending to be a citizen of this world, he should have held his tongue and kept his eyes to the ground.

  Ryoma’s attitude was polite, but only by Japanese standards. Even if it wouldn’t be seen as rude in this world, it certainly came across as Ryoma not knowing his place.

  “Hmm... I see. Guess I screwed up there.”

  Ryoma swiftly concluded that trying to talk his way out of this would be fruitless.

  “I see we finally understand who is talking to whom here.” Saitou said, and Shardina nodded, turning to face Ryoma.

  “I believe this is the first time we’ve come face to face. As you’re already aware, I am the first princess of the Empire of O’ltormea, Shardina Eisenheit. What name do you go by, dear otherworlder?”

  “Me? It’s Mikoshiba. Ryoma Mikoshiba.” Ryoma answered her words calmly.

  “I see. So you’re Japanese, like I thought.” Thus spoke Saitou.

  “Certainly seems like you are too, Saitou.”

  “Yes.” Saitou nodded. “I’m in the same position as you. I was summoned to this world ten years ago.”

  “Oh? And you advanced to vice-captain rank in just ten years?”

  “Well, let’s just say luck was on my side.” The man smiled bitterly. “Being an otherworlder has its merits.”

  “The whole ‘power absorption rate’ thing?”

  “Oh, I’m surprised you know that much.” Saitou’s eyes widened in surprise.

  “Please. I just wrang a few facts out of the old man who summoned me.” Ryoma said, a cruel smirk on his lips. “Learned quite a bit from him.”

  “Is that so? I hear the corpse was terribly mutilated. Did you torture Gaius?” There was a hint of anger to Shardina’s voice.

  “Gaius? If that’s what you call the geezer who summoned me, then yes. I made him talk.”

  Ryoma admitted to the torture right away. Perhaps he’d thought there was no point in hiding it.

  “In that case, regrettable as it may be, we’ll have to put you to the sword. We can’t permit anyone who raises a hand against our Empire to live.”

  “Regrettable?” Ryoma met Shardina’s words with apprehension. “What do you have to regret?”

  “I hold people like you in very high regard. Even though you were thrust into the unusual situation of being thrown into another world, you escaped the capital, in spite of how unfamiliar it was to you, and got as far as the national border. That alone stands as proof of the unusual strength you possess. If your intellect and power would be put to use by our Empire, we would be one decisive step closer to conquering the western continent.”

  As Shardina finished speaking, Ryoma regarded her with scornful ridicule.

  “Surely you jest. Me, serve you? I’m guessing that’d be as a slave, right? Spare me your stupid jokes.”

  He had the countenance of an enraged demon, contorting in anger, hatred and limitless urge to kill.

  “Stupid, you say?”

  “Yeah, you heard me. Who do you think I am, the hero in some story? Why the hell would I ever serve you people?”

  Those were Ryoma’s sincere, honest thoughts. The idea of obediently doing what he was told after someone summoned him to another world was insane. Shardina, on the other hand, scoffed at Ryoma’s words.

  “Is it not natural for the one who was summoned to obey the person who summoned them?”

  Shardina’s expression made it seem like she was simply pointing out common sense. For the people of this world, humans they’d summoned were nothing more than convenient tools, and no one would think to ask tools for permission before using them.

  “Yeah, I kinda figured people in this world would say that.”

  Ryoma’s statement made Shardina furrowed her brow. “What do you mean?”

  “Nothing in particular. Talking to you people is a waste of breath anyway. But I will say one thing. I obey only one person, and that’s myself. No one else. I think and decide on my own. That’s all.”

  Ryoma had already judged that speaking to Shardina any further was pointless. Their ideologies and upbringings were far too different. There could be no agreement between them. There was a difference of heaven and earth between the two of them, and there was no chance of reconciliation from the very start.

  “So, that’s what you think... However, my dear otherworlder, this world isn’t kind enough to accommodate your free will. True, you stuck to your desires. You slew Gaius. But where did that lead you, in the end?” Shardina sneered at him. “You’re sitting here, cuffed, in front of me.”

  Ryoma could make as many claims to pride as he wished, but it would come across as nothing but the wailing of a sore loser. His hands had been cuffed by Saitou, after all.

  “Your pride is admirable. But does it amount to anything in this world, where the powerless are trampled and deprived? It’s not as kind as your world. Your free will, you say? What would clinging to it give you? Had you simply obeyed the Empire, you could have been promoted like Saitou was.”

  “Heh. Sorry, but being your dog and barking on command doesn’t sound appealing.” Ryoma mocked Shardina’s words.

  “I see. You are a foolish man. You have the gall to talk like that even in this situation, do you? I might’ve spared you had you begged for your life.”

  As Saitou listened to Shardina’s conversation with Ryoma, the anxiety in his heart only grew stronger.

  She’s right... Why is he so confident even now? Anyone else would be on all fours, begging for their lives.

  A premonition of something bad approaching crossed Saitou’s mind as Shardina spoke. He knew she was lying, of course. Even if Ryoma Mikoshiba were to beg for mercy, his fate had already been sealed; he was to be put to death. No other options were available for the man who killed Gaius and besmirched the Empire’s dignity.

  But it was only human to cling to the slightest shred of hope, even when faced with death. And despite that, Ryoma Mikoshiba remained unfazed.

  Is he prepared to die?

  But Saitou couldn’t see any sorrow at having coming to terms with death in Ryoma’s face.

  What is this, then? Does he think he can make it out of this situation alive?

  Shardina was accompanied by thirty troops. Twenty-six of them were deployed to search the forest in groups of two. There were only four other soldiers left to defend Shardina’s camp. Since Saitou discovered and brought Ryoma back alone, there was a total of six of them there.

  These numbers were more than enough to restrain a single otherworlder. But despite them holding all the advantages, he couldn’t shake off the anxiety. At that moment, Saitou’s mind came up with a possibility.

  Wait... Did he end up in this situation because he wanted to be here?

  It was a crazy, completely unfounded thought. But that only made it feel all the more true to Saitou.

  That’s right... if that’s the case, everything clicks into place. But why? What kind of merit does this man gain from this situation...? No, whatever merit he gets doesn’t matter. We have to kill this man, right here and now. Whatever he can do in this situation won’t amount to much that way.

  Saitou’s hands moved to remove his silver-rimmed spectacles, and revealed in their absence were the cold, bloodthirsty eyes of a murderer. There wasn’t so much as a hint of the calmness he had before in him. His eyes glinted with sharp light, like an unsheathed sword.

  “Saitou...?” Shardina noticed the change in his attitude. Bloodthirst emanated from his body
, as if he was standing on a battlefield.

  “Her Majesty, I do apologize, but we should kill this man, right here and now.”

  “Wh-What are you saying?!” Shardina couldn’t hide her surprise at the fact this was what her aide had said after such a prolonged, contemplative silence. “We need to deliver him to the Emperor!”

  “No, Your Majesty. This man is dangerous. If we let him continue to draw breath, who knows what he might do...”

  “Do you intend to go against His Grace’s orders?!”

  “I am sorry. Rebuke me as you will after this...”

  So Saitou said, unsheathing his blade as he stepped towards Ryoma.

  “Wait, Saitou!”

  Ignoring Shardina’s calls, Saitou raised his sword.

  “Any last words? Since we were both born in the same place, I will at least hear you out.”

  “No, nothing in particular.” Ryoma said with a faint smile, not flinching from the drawn blade shining down on him.

  “I see. You’ve got nerve, I’ll give you that.”

  “Nah, not that much at all... Considering you’re the ones who are going to die!” Ryoma’s shout reverberated through the night air, disappearing into the dark forest.

  “What’s gotten into him...?!” Shardina couldn’t hold back her surprise at Ryoma’s roar shaking the tent.

  “What is... Ah! Your Majesty!” At that moment, Saitou’s intuition cried out in alarm.

  The moment Saitou’s body covered Shardina’s, a gust of wind swept over the tent. The gale shook the camp, tearing the tents to bits as if a giant sword had run rampant across the place.

  A few seconds later, Saitou got to his feet after confirming the wind had died down.

  “Your Majesty! Your Majesty!”

  “I’m fine... What happened?”

  Shardina, who was hidden under Saitou’s body, rose to her feet, holding her head with her arms.

  “You’re fine, Your Majesty! Damnit... That bastard!” Saitou, however, ignored Shardina’s words and wheeled over, looking for Ryoma.