Chapter 5

Lambert walked alone through the forest, the sound of metal armor joints clashing echoing as he continued on his way.

Near Lambert, not even a monster, let alone an insect or animal, showed its face.

Even when Lambert sensed what seemed to be animal mana, it would quickly disappear as if moving away.

(Strange... It's too quiet. I wonder what happened while my body was left as a corpse...)

Lambert felt uneasy and heightened his vigilance.

Monsters and animals, in general, have better instincts than humans.

If they avoid an area, it must mean there is some terrible danger lurking, Lambert thought.

Lambert's guess was half right.

He was correct that there was a terrible danger, but he was wrong in thinking it was something other than himself.

The monsters were hiding in fear of Lambert's power, which they sensed from the mana he was unconsciously emitting.

While it is natural for living beings to continuously release a small amount of mana, undead creatures, especially, release more than ordinary beings.

Unless they consciously suppress it, they will continue to intimidate their surroundings.

The small amount of mana that monsters release into their surroundings is also called miasma, which can cause discomfort, fear, and in some cases, illness depending on the type of monster.

Lambert, who had just become an undead and had a much stronger human consciousness compared to a typical undead, was completely unaware that he was emitting miasma.

(Really, I haven't sensed any human presence at all... but I keep picking up strange signs of monsters. It would be fine if it were just an ogre-level monster...)

Lambert continued to run.

Eventually, the sun set and then rose again.

Noticing that he wasn't feeling tired at all, despite running for nearly half a day without rest, Lambert realized that undead do not feel fatigue or need sleep.

This realization made him feel a bit lonely, as it reminded him that he was no longer among the living, but a twisted form of life.

After composing himself, Lambert considered the high performance of his new body and was amazed by it alone.

(No need for sleep... a body that never tires... How fortunate this would be on the battlefield. If the war hasn't ended, perhaps it was lucky to have given up my human body for this one. If we could turn all four of the Four Demon Generals of the Regius Kingdom into undead, I have the confidence that just the four of us could take down a castle.)

Lambert, who had dedicated himself to the country, had a somewhat skewed perspective compared to ordinary people.

With a renewed mindset, he decided to run through the forest at full speed since he wouldn't tire anyway.

(However, I still haven't seen any other animals. Even after running this far, it's still within the territory of that monster! It must be a monster with considerable influence.)

In the end, Lambert didn't realize his own mistake.

After running a bit further, Lambert sensed animal mana.

Unlike the animals he had sensed before, this one seemed to be stationary.

Lambert decided to make contact with the source of this mana.

As he approached the source of the mana, he found a thin girl sitting on a rock.

Her complexion was poor, her cheeks sunken, and her arms as thin as twigs.

It seemed she hadn't had a proper meal for days.

At her feet lay a bow, a quiver, and a bird with an arrow in it.

She seemed to have been hunting.

Despite being hungry, she hadn't touched the bird she had caught.

She just stared at the ground with a completely despondent expression.

Lambert stood in front of the girl and revealed himself.

The girl slowly lifted her head and looked at Lambert.

Humans, compared to other animals, have a slightly weaker ability to sense mana and miasma.

Therefore, the girl hadn't noticed Lambert's miasma.

"Hey, girl. What year is it in the Regius calendar? I want to know how the war with the Maculas Kingdom is going."

The girl's eyes widened when she saw Lambert.

She was slightly frightened by his unfamiliar full armor and the faint miasma she could sense, but a glimmer of hope also emerged in her.

"Um... Could you be one of Lord Aubock's private soldiers? The others...?"

"…Aubock? No, I don't know that name. And I'm alone right now."

The joy and hope on the girl's face faded and she returned to her despondent expression, slowly shaking her head.

"Right... I should leave this place as soon as possible."

"What?"

"In fact, my village has been occupied by bandits... They've taken my sick mother and my young sister as hostages, and I've been hunting every day... Just the other day, an adventurer came because the village's communication had been cut off, but they were all captured. You should leave before you get involved..."

Hearing this, Lambert understood.

It made sense why she hadn't touched the game she had caught despite being clearly hungry.

She had mistaken him for one of the private soldiers, thinking that the lord had taken some action to help the village.

"…But I've never heard of a village near the border. And... your accent is a bit unfamiliar. Ah, I see... It seems I've ventured deep into the Maculas Kingdom while running."

"Border...? Maculas Kingdom...? What are you talking about?"

"What?"

"I think this is in the central part of the Regius Kingdom..."

"Wh-What!?"

Lambert was genuinely surprised.

The girl was startled by his surprise and shuddered.

(If this is the central part of the Regius Kingdom... That means... the war with the Maculas Kingdom has ended, and Empress Aurelia has already unified the west! And if there's a village... It must have been more than twenty years. So... Empress Aurelia might already be at an age where she has grandchildren... I never thought it could have been twenty years. I need to prepare my heart...)

In reality, it had been more than two hundred years since Lambert was pushed off the cliff by Glyph.

The war with the Maculas Kingdom was long in the past, and Aurelia, whom Lambert had complex feelings for, had long since passed away.

"Um..."

Lambert was still in shock, pressing his helmet, but he snapped back to reality when the girl spoke to him.

"…Do you recognize this armor?"

"No, I'm sorry, but..."

"I see..."

Lambert thought it was understandable that the girl didn't recognize the 'Regius Orgazella Armor,' as she was born after the war had ended.

The generational gap and loneliness were inevitable, but there was nothing he could do about it.

He assumed that the Four Demon Generals were either gone or had changed significantly.

(…Besides, it's better if my true identity remains unknown. If it gets out that the former Demon General Lambert has returned, it could hinder my information gathering. Glyph might be sent. Even if I win next time... I don't really want to kill him.)

Incidentally, Glyph, Lambert's former best friend and one of the Four Demon Generals, had long since died.

(This time, I wasn't noticed because the girl is a child... I should get a less conspicuous, plain, and ordinary full plate armor as soon as possible.)

The armor available in the current world was mostly lightweight, designed to protect only the vital points of the human body, such as chest plates and leather armor. Full plate armor was a conspicuous item, but Lambert had no way of knowing this.

"It's dangerous here because the village is nearby. If you go that way, you should be able to escape... Please tell Lord Aubock! If I leave the village, my mother and sister, who are being held hostage, will be killed... Please!"

The girl pleaded with Lambert.

"No, that's unnecessary."

"Huh...?"

"I may look like this, but I used to be a knight serving the country. If the people of the Regius Kingdom are being threatened by bandits, I can't just stand by. I'll take care of it."

While he had unresolved feelings about his treatment by Aurelia, Lambert had not forgotten his patriotism.

He had always been a man with an unusually strong sense of justice.

"Wait, that's reckless! There are more than thirty bandits!"

"Bandits who haven't had proper training or any real beliefs, no matter how many there are, are not worth fearing. Lead me to the village."

"But..."

The girl was hesitant.

If she led Lambert to the village and he was easily defeated by the bandits, she and her family would be in grave danger.

It wasn't something she could easily agree to.

Lambert was growing frustrated.

From his perspective, he couldn't understand why the girl was so stubborn about not letting him deal with the bandits.

A group of thugs with no proper training, no beliefs, and no proper mentors.

That was Lambert's view of bandits.

To Lambert, one of the Four Demon Generals of the Regius Kingdom, who was known as a human weapon, bandits were not worth fearing.

Even if the girl didn't recognize the Regius Orgazella Armor, its brilliance should still be evident, Lambert thought.

In his time, it was a common belief that a single top-tier soldier, who had trained their body to the extreme, could not be matched by a group of ordinary people.

However, times had changed, and in a stable nation, such superhuman beings were rare.

This was where Lambert and the girl's perceptions diverged, and they couldn't understand each other.

"Stop repeating yourself. Lead me to the village."

Frustration caused more miasma to leak from Lambert's body.

The concentration was strong enough to give even the girl, who was less sensitive to mana, a powerful sense of intimidation.

The girl shuddered, her face turning pale.

She collapsed on the spot.

Facing a man in unusual armor, she felt as if she were being stared down by a much larger monster.

Predator and prey. Lambert's miasma as an undead imprinted this instinctive power dynamic in her mind.

—She would be killed.

The overwhelming sense of intimidation was so strong that she thought she would be killed.

"A... Ah..."

She opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out.

Lambert was shaken by the girl's fear.

"I... I didn't mean to sound threatening. I'm sorry... I'm not used to dealing with children."

He moved his arms, making a clanking sound.

Thinking his helmet might be off, he pressed it with his hands.

(Okay... It's fine... It should be...)

Why was the girl so afraid?

As he considered this, he suddenly became aware of a sensation of something overflowing from within his body.

(Could it be... Am I emitting miasma? Have I degraded to the point of becoming a monster...)

It was only now that Lambert realized he was emitting miasma.

He was forced to re-recognize that he had become a monster, and he hung his head in defeat.

He then consciously tried to minimize the emission of miasma.

It felt like trying to suppress sweat, and it was quite uncomfortable.

However, it seemed to work, as the sensation of mana overflowing from his body stopped.

The girl remained frozen in a bowed position.

Her body was stiff with fear, unable to move.

"...Are you... feeling better now?"

Thinking that suppressing the miasma would ease the girl's fear, Lambert spoke again.

The girl slowly lifted her wide eyes to look at Lambert.

Her eyes, which had been filled with fear, now showed confusion.

"A... I'm sorry... I lost my composure..."

The sudden disappearance of the intense killing aura and Lambert's confused appearance created a contrast that helped calm the girl down.

"But... really, there are a lot of bandits... I'm not lying!"

Lambert sensed human mana behind him.

It wasn't just one person.

"Three, it seems. We've been talking for too long."

"Wh-What!?"

Lambert slowly turned around and looked in the direction of the mana.

"Hey, how did you know?"

"Damn, I was trying to catch you off guard."

"Anyway, with that ridiculous armor, you won't be hit by arrows. Especially with your skills. We'll have to beat you up and drag you out."

From the depths of the forest, three men appeared, each holding a scythe, a sword, and a blowgun.