Chapter 66

Suddenly, perhaps because he had been summoned by Camilla, Lebitch appeared pale.

Rondal stood in front of Camilla's desk, which had been vacated, in a posture that could be called at attention, and asked,

"Milady Camilla, have you summoned me?"

"Hmm, indeed I have a matter to discuss, but don't be so tense..."

Seeing Camilla's smile, Lebitch seemed to relax slightly.

"Then, what is the matter, Milady?"

"Hmm, I thought I would hear again about the recent battle. I'm sorry to trouble you during your busy time..."

"No, no, not at all. Please ask anything you wish."

It's unclear if Lebitch, the knight, was the center of this, but it is certain that he was involved in the false report to Camilla.

Perhaps because of this, when he was asked to recount the battle again, his expression seemed to stiffen.

"Hmm... Could you start from when you encountered the Orc Mages and tell me again?"

"Yes, it was after the midday rest had ended and we had been exploring for a while in the afternoon..."

Lebitch recounted the events, occasionally pausing as if searching his memory, from the moment the slaves were all wiped out and they felt the danger, leading to their retreat.

Of course, this story was all fabricated; in reality, we had used sleeping potions to put them to sleep and rescued our classmates during that time.

However, Lebitch told the story as if it were all true.

Camilla occasionally asked questions and nodded repeatedly, praising his quick thinking in the crisis.

Rondal's face, however, gradually turned pale as he watched Camilla.

"So, more than twenty Orc Mages attacked, and then another ten or more Orc Mages launched a pincer attack?"

"Yes, if it had been only the first twenty, we might have been able to command the slaves and eliminate them, but we were thrown into confusion when attacked from behind... I apologize."

"No, to have avoided any casualties in such a situation, Lebitch, your skills are remarkable."

"I am honored... However, I feel uncomfortable being praised when all the slaves were wiped out..."

"Indeed... But remember, the lives of you knights are more valuable than those of the slaves. The safe return of all of you is what benefits Reisenburg."

"Yes, I will keep that in mind."

Camilla, seemingly satisfied with Lebitch's bow, slightly changed the direction of the conversation.

"By the way, Lebitch, of the fifty slaves you took, were they all eaten?"

"What do you mean, were there any survivors?"

"Hmm, since you were in a chaotic situation, perhaps you didn't confirm the deaths of all of them?"

"That... that..."

At this point, Lebitch seemed to hesitate.

They had agreed with their companions that all had died, but in the chaotic situation of being attacked by the Orc Mages, could they really have confirmed the deaths of all fifty?

"Lebitch, in a chaotic situation, it's understandable if you couldn't confirm all deaths... What do you think?"

"Yes, I apologize. In the confusion of the attack, I couldn't confirm if all fifty were completely devoured."

Camilla nodded in agreement, and Rondal let out a sigh.

"Milady Camilla, if I may, why is Rondal here?"

"Hmm, the reason Rondal is here is..."

When Camilla explained, Lebitch's eyes widened, and he glared at Rondal.

"Lebitch, don't think that Rondal has slandered you!"

"Milady Camilla, but..."

"The main reason Rondal had doubts about your report was because he noticed something suspicious about the behavior of those training in the annex. What should we consider now?"

"Perhaps... the survivors among the fifty?"

Camilla nodded in satisfaction at Lebitch's answer.

"Indeed, if they have survived and are waiting for an opportunity, they will surely become an obstacle to us. What should we do?"

"Should we locate them or lure them out and capture them?"

"Too soft! Lebitch, you must eliminate the survivors as soon as you find them!"

"Yes! I apologize."

Camilla called Rondal to the front of the desk and gave orders to both of them.

"Understood. If any have survived, it is their duty to immediately report and rejoin their unit. To flee and rebel against us is unacceptable. Eliminate them all as soon as you find them!"

"Yes!"

"The challenge is how to eliminate them all. Even if one is left alive, they could become a future threat to Reisenburg..."

"Milady Camilla, I think it would be best to lure them out and eliminate them all at once."

As Rondal began to explain his plan, Camilla, who was deep in thought, nodded.

"Currently, we don't know where the surviving slaves are. To avoid the risk of letting them escape, we should find their location and numbers and then eliminate them all at once."

"Indeed, that is the first step. Rondal, is there anything you have forgotten?"

"What do you mean, forgotten?"

"You are the youngest teacher who noticed the anomaly. Interrogate him. You can kill him if necessary, but extract all the information he has!"

"Yes! Understood!"

"Lebitch, go with him and supervise. Once you have the information, immediately prepare a plan for the elimination and report back!"

"Yes! Understood!"

"Once all the survivors are eliminated, the false report will be overlooked. Understood?"

"Yes! I will proceed immediately!"

Lebitch and Rondal, who saluted Camilla, both frowned.

"Huh? What's wrong... Ugh, what is this drowsiness..."

"Milady Camilla, this is..."

"This is... from that time..."

Camilla leaned forward on her desk, and Rondal and Lebitch collapsed to the floor.

'Operation begins, Kent.'

'Yes, Mr. Kento, Mr. Kengo can't withstand torture, so we need to act quickly. Everyone, start!'

'Understood!'

We decided to act before Camilla and the others could move.

We had drugged them with sleeping potions, so they wouldn't wake up for a while.

We also drugged the secretary and the guards at the door, brought them into the office, and locked the door.

We tied up the drugged individuals as a precaution.

I moved with Zae to the teachers' location and tried to rescue the three knights by putting them to sleep, but a problem arose.

"Hey, what's wrong with you, wake up!"

The two knights fell asleep easily, but Gert did not.

It seems he had taken a stimulant to stay awake during his duty after an irregular night shift.

'Sire, should we eliminate them?'

'No, call Fred quickly.'

We laid the fallen comrades on the ground, and Gert ran towards the building.

If he uses any drugs, the other knights might wake up.

'Kent... anything?'

'Fred, the drug isn't working on Gert. Can you incapacitate him without killing him?'

'Understood... I'll handle it...'

As I asked Fred, Gert ran out of the building.

Fred emerged from the shadows to confront him, and Gert stopped in his tracks.

"Black skeleton... Who are you!"

Gert placed the package he was carrying on the ground, drew his sword, and questioned Fred.

Of course, Fred couldn't answer, so he drew his black twin swords and prepared to fight. Gert also readied his sword.

"Reisenburg Fourth Knight Regiment, Gert Stahl... Mana, oh Mana, ruler of the world, gather, gather in my body, flow, flow, flow, become my power! I shall attack!"

Realizing Fred was not an ordinary enemy, Gert boldly announced his name, cast a body enhancement spell, and charged.

His attack was fierce, and for a moment, it seemed Fred had been cut in two.

However, it was just an afterimage, and Gert was knocked out with a hand strike to the back of his head.

Fred quickly and securely tied him up and locked him in the second floor of the building.

"Teachers! Reisenburg has noticed us, so we're moving the operation up. We're escaping! Zae, prepare the carriage!"

I went outside and called the teachers to the warehouse.

"Kunifumi, you mean they noticed..."

"Yes, Mr. Kengo was too obvious. Come on, get in quickly. Mr. Oda, sit on the driver's seat and pretend to control Zae. Other teachers, hide in the carriage so you're not seen."

Since we're moving through the city during the day, Zae will be noticeable, but if someone is controlling him, he might be mistaken for a tamed creature.

While preparing the carriage, Fred opened the gate for us.

"Zae, do you know the way?"

"Don't worry, Sire."

"Then, take the teachers to the garrison, and I'll go back to guide the classmates."

"Understood."

"Fred, let's go back!"

Leaving the teachers with Zae, Kent and Fred returned to the garrison.

Alto and the others were administering sleeping potions to the knights, but the garrison was in chaos.

"Hey, what's going on? Why are they all sleeping?"

"Hey, what are you doing... Ugh... What's happening..."

"Wow, this one too... Hey, isn't this bad?"

"Maybe we should run?"

"Idiot, where would we run to..."

At this point, we couldn't afford to wait our turn.

I went outside and called out loudly.

"Everyone, gather by class in the training ground, quickly!"

"Hey, Kunifumi, you're alive!"

"Where did you come from, are you a ghost?"

"I'm not a ghost. The first five and the later fifty are all alive. Everyone, gather quickly!"

"Hey... They were... gone..."

After calling everyone to gather, I moved to the examination room.

I gave a sleeping potion to Elna, who was still awake, and caught her as she collapsed. I then called the class president.

"Yui, the plan has changed, we're going now!"

"Kento! Kento, Kento!"

The class president, who was treating an old lady, ran over and hugged me.

"The situation has changed, we're going now."

"Understood, anytime!"

'Kent, the knights outside are asleep...'

'Got it, Basten, next, the carriages.'

"Woof, Kent, I've put all the patrolling knights to sleep."

"Thanks, Alto, keep watching for any remaining knights."

Although the plan had changed significantly from the original, thanks to the efforts of my followers, things were progressing smoothly.

However, I was still anxious, and my back was drenched in sweat, and my stomach was churning.

"Kunifumi, Class 3 is all here."

"Class 2 is all here too."

"Classes that are ready, please start leaving. Cross the drawbridge and move to the entrance of the forest."

"Understood, let's go."

One by one, the carriages started moving, and cheers erupted from inside.

"Yay... We're free, we're free!"

"Great, we won't die!"

"Yayyyyyy!"

The drawbridge was just a short distance away, but the townspeople who had come to the examination room were watching anxiously, and it would be better if they could be quiet, but that was impossible.

Hearing everyone's joyful voices, I felt a sense of accomplishment and wanted to cheer too.

However, I was caught off guard by a sudden attack from behind.

"Huh...?"

A blood-soaked sword protruded from my stomach.

As soon as I recognized it as a sword and realized I had been stabbed, a burning pain shot through my head, and blood flowed from the wound down my left thigh.

"Aaaaaah..."

"You must be the ringleader, take this, don