“That’s weird.”
After winning the battle that continued all night, even utilizing a solar eclipse, I managed to conquer Randell in just one day. I shared my honest impressions after personally touring the village during the day.
“This shouldn’t be happening.”
Despite maintaining my guard until the very end, Knight Jeref Parvian never showed up.
Considering I thought this battle would be the ultimate showdown, the hollow victory felt deflating.
Under normal circumstances, it might have taken several days of relentless battling to achieve such a victory, but after everything that had happened, I found it hard to genuinely celebrate having essentially snatched it overnight.
Before taking a stroll around the streets, I had even entertained the reasonable suspicion that perhaps they had intentionally given up Randell and planned to put up a fight in the capital, Lusheir, where the Luminous Kingdom’s Palace was located.
However, what I witnessed in Randell was so chaotic that I couldn’t believe it was a planned retreat.
I saw humans screaming and fleeing after being confronted by Ain forces that had subdued the Luminous Kingdom’s troops, as well as others trembling on the ground, sobbing uncontrollably.
The crowds, overwhelmed by a war they had never experienced before, were writhing in confusion.
If everything, including the absence of the strongest Knight and the seemingly effortless fall of Randell, was indeed planned, the residents should have already evacuated.
Yet, that wasn’t the case.
The people rushing to escape didn’t appear to be part of any plan.
“I’m noticing fewer people than I remember…”
Even with the sun high in the sky, Plona, who knows Randell best, anxiously bit her lip as she stated she would have to see for herself.
“It is strange that Sir Parvian isn’t on the front lines, but overall there’s an unusual tension. Given there aren’t many influential figures among those captured, it seems some must have received warnings and escaped in advance. However, if they had initially considered evacuating to Lusheir, they would have had ample time to inform the entire populace.”
“…What the heck is going on?”
The more information I gathered, the deeper I fell into a quandary.
I couldn’t grasp anyone’s motives at all.
If the plan was indeed to issue evacuation warnings due to uncertainty about victory from the start, shouldn’t it have included all of Randell instead of just warning a few influential people?
Of course, evacuating all of Randell’s residents within a few days would have caused massive chaos.
Yet, there’s no excuse for that. It clearly looks like they abandoned Randell’s residents.
“I don’t understand. There’s never been anything like this when I was in the Church.”
Plona shook her head seriously.
Whether it was due to Lusheir not having the capacity to accept all of Randell’s residents or if they planned to stall by keeping some behind, either way, it was an uncharacteristic move for the Luminous Kingdom.
Wasn’t the Luminous Kingdom known for ruthlessly caring for its fellow human beings, irrespective of status, even if it treated Ain terribly?
Regardless of urgency, using their own people as bait can never be justified.
Acts that go against the Church’s principles only tarnish the image of the leadership.
Having no understanding of this seemingly reckless behavior meant I couldn’t enjoy the victory we had just achieved.
Eventually, after bustling around town throughout the day and failing to uncover anything suspicious, I sought out Stella, who was in charge of interrogating the knights.
“According to the knights’ testimonies, the Luminous Kingdom’s Palace had been communicating that they had no intention of abandoning Randell. They simply followed orders to resist, and it seems this situation was unexpected even for the knights.”
“Is that even sensible?”
Ravina looked incredulous at Stella’s succinct summary of events.
If this was true, it meant that the central command had also deceived the knights in the Randell branch, which would make it abnormal not to have a riot demanding the Pope’s resignation right away.
It wasn’t unheard of for those in high positions to commit corruption, but typically, the more corruption there is, the more they are concerned about their reputation.
However, such an unreasoned approach would undoubtedly deal a direct blow to the reputation of the Pope and the high-ranking officials of the Luminous Kingdom.
“We’ve completed cross-verification, and when combining that with Her Majesty’s words, I think there’s surprisingly some merit to this. I mean, if the knights knew they were just discarded, there’s no way they’d fight so desperately.”
Stella calmly expressed her opinion.
Interrogation and intelligence gathering have always been her forte, so I supposed I should listen to an expert.
While I mulled over Stella’s words, she seemed to suddenly remember something she had forgotten to mention.
“By the way, it was supposed to be Sir Jeref Parvian leading reinforcements from Lusheir. It’s logical to think that if a serious incident occurred at the headquarters, they wouldn’t have had the capacity to send reinforcements.”
“If they can’t send reinforcements due to unavoidable circumstances, they should at least be able to communicate with Randell, right?”
One would think they could convey information with a simple communication device. Was there not a single person at the Luminous Kingdom’s Palace with the time to hold a conversation?
Unless a meteor dropped or something and Lusheir evaporated instantly.
But if such a major incident occurred, it would have been impossible not to know.
At the very least, information indicated the Luminous Kingdom’s Palace had remained silent, without any observable abnormalities.
“Exactly. That’s why we cannot draw any logical conclusions. It’s unclear whether the most formidable foe, Sir Jeref Parvian, is in cahoots with the headquarters in this incident or if he, like Randell’s knights, fell into a trap and couldn’t make it. However, I believe it’s reasonable to think the leadership of the Church abandoned Randell on purpose.”
The notion of not being able to conclude rationally…
How true that was.
Did they literally give up on public sentiment, thinking they couldn’t win this war?
It certainly makes sense that the more people there are, the faster they consume resources, so abandoning the weak and resource-wasting populace to engage in a siege with an elite force in a kingdom seems a valid strategy.
But to so easily forsake the status they’ve built as a hegemonic state over the centuries, and the honor of the Luminous Church…?
Could greedy humans truly act like that?
Moreover, even if they opted for a desperate last stand with a select elite, what possible justification could there be for treating Randell’s knights like pawns?
I just couldn’t wrap my head around it.
What on earth did they intend to achieve by discarding a significant portion of their invaluable knights, the top-tier human resources they should prioritize above all else?
It seemed almost more credible that the Pope and the Church’s leadership had collectively lost their minds, convinced of their impending defeat.
Neither Plona, who knew the Church better than anyone else present, nor Ravina, who typically acted on interests but was still sharp, could adequately speculate in this situation.
As the situation continued where joy over victory eluded us, Eleonora, who had rushed to inform us that Martini and Jeil had returned, stormed in, flustered.
“Master! Outside! You have to see this!!”
With a panicked face and hurried, disordered voice, without needing to ask what was happening, we all dashed outside.
“Your Majesty!”
Martini and Jeil were already waiting outside.
There was no need to ask what was happening.
The murmurings echoed from all directions.
As I followed the crowd’s gaze, they had stopped walking as if they’d made an agreement and were staring upwards, I finally understood why Eleonora was so agitated.
“…That’s…”
I stifled a gasp that slipped out, aware I had to conceal my shock.
I couldn’t let them see my surprise. I wanted to quietly assess the situation.
To the east, in the direction of the capital Lusheir, a column of shimmering light was rising into the sky.
It wasn’t blindingly bright, but the amount of light visible after sunset was certainly unnatural.
The moment I thought that, an overwhelming pain surged through my heart, and I couldn’t help but gasp.
“Master!”
“Sister!!”
Eleonora and Plona, standing beside me, shouted as they rushed to me.
Only after they supported me did I realize I had almost stumbled.
“…I’m fine now.”
I was bewildered.
What was going on? What on earth was that?
The crushing tightness in my chest subsided quickly, yet my startled heart continued to race.
Thump, thump.
Ever since I’d been reborn as a vampire and started drinking blood, I had never felt pain outside of injuries; now, it seemed like my body was warning me of something.
“…A warning?”
Wait. Why did I think of it as a warning?
It was just my heart racing, so why had such thoughts come to mind naturally?
It was strange.
As I faced the enticing blood before me, plagued by the urge to feed, I experienced a bizarre sensation as if an instinct was urging me to harbor strong animosity and wariness toward that beam of light.
As if I should fear that light without question.
As if I should despise that light for no reason.
“Huh? Is it getting brighter—”
The moment someone muttered that, a heartbeat-like sensation fell upon me; a dim light flooded the entire sky.
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